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Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research pp 1281–1287Cite as

Coping with an Unjust World

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Synonyms

Deservingness principle; Just-world theory; System justification theory

Definition

Just-world theory (Lerner, 1980) proposed that people have a fundamental need to believe that the world is a just place. According to the theory, people have therefore developed several strategies to cope with unjust events, ranging from helping to blaming victims of injustice. Subsequent research has identified additional ways in which people can cope with an unjust world (e.g., compensatory rationalizations and immanent justice reasoning).

Description

Belief in a Just World

Justiceis one of people’s and society’s core values. People generally strive to do the right thing and greatly value being treated fairly. Moreover, rules of justice are pivotal to the functioning of most, if not all, societies. Yet, people are confronted with injustice on a daily basis. These events do not only entail the grave injustices we see on the news, such as wars and hunger, but also encompass individual events,...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Michèlle Bal & Kees van den Bos

Authors
  1. Michèlle Bal
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  2. Kees van den Bos
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Correspondence to Michèlle Bal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

  2. (residence), Brandon, MB, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

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Bal, M., van den Bos, K. (2014). Coping with an Unjust World. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_4121

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_4121

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-007-0752-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-0753-5

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