Theories and Concepts

Just-World Hypothesis

Social Psychology

Melvin Lerner began the experiments establishing the just-world hypothesis in 1966 at the University of Kansas, studying how people respond emotionally when they witness someone suffer without being able to help them. The finding has since been applied, and criticized, well beyond the laboratory.

Facts
Core Claim
People are motivated to believe the world is fundamentally fair, that actions and conditions bring appropriate, deserved consequences, because this belief helps them feel able to plan and act effectively in their own lives. 1
Origin Year
1966 1
Evidence Standing
Well Supported 1
Just-World Hypothesis
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Sources
1. Wikipedia: Just-World Hypothesis
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lerner's theory
    A just world is one in which actions and conditions have predictable, appropriate consequences.
  • Article text
    As a result, the existence of the just-world hypothesis as a psychological phenomenon has become widely accepted.
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