Is it Desirable or Useful to Believe in a Just World?

Autori:

Bernard GANGLOFF, Crisanta-Alina MAZILESCU

Cod: ISSN: 1583-3410 (print), ISSN: 1584-5397 (electronic)
Dimensiuni: pp. 150-161

How to cite this article:

Gangloff, B., Mazilescu, C.A. (2015). Is it Desirable or Useful to Believe in a Just World? Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala, 51, 150-161.

Abstract:

Recent studies have lately highlighted the normative character of the belief in a just world. Conferring an object the status of a social norm means assigning value (in terms of desirability and utility) to that object. So we questioned the value assigned to the belief in a just world. 170 employees were therefore interrogated on the desirability and utility they would attribute to a future work colleague (future peer or subordinate) based on the responses the latter was supposed to have given to a questionnaire on the belief in a just world. It turns out that believers in a just world are almost always preferred to non-believers, both in terms of desirability, as well as utility, regardless of their future status (peer vs. subordinate). This result thus confirms the normativity of the belief in a just world.