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Psychology
intermediate

Foregoing the labor for the fruits: The effect of just world threat on the desire for immediate monetary rewards

Mitchell J. Callan et al. (2009)

Published
Jan 1, 2009
Journal
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · Vol. 45 · No. 1
DOI
10.1016/j.jesp.2008.08.013
View Original

At a GlanceAI

Just-world threat increases preference for immediate money over delayed rewards, linking justice beliefs to impulsive financial choices.

SummaryAI

This study examines how threats to belief in a just world shape preferences for immediate versus delayed monetary rewards. It reports that when people experience a just-world threat, they show a stronger desire for immediate money, suggesting a shift toward short-term, certainty-seeking choices. The work matters because it connects a core justice-related belief to intertemporal decision-making, implying that perceived unfairness can influence everyday financial patience and self-control.

Method SnapshotAI

Experimental social psychology studies manipulating just-world threat and measuring preference for immediate versus delayed monetary rewards.

BackgroundAI

Basic social psychology of belief in a just world and foundational concepts in delay discounting/intertemporal choice.

In Collections

Psychology41 papers

The Belief in a Just World

In this collection I gather (mostly) psychological studies devoted to people’s fundamental belief that the world is just. This construct, it seems to me, quite strongly affects our perception of the world and, importantly, our reaction to ongoing events — especially when we start blaming others, guided implicitly by precisely this motive. The collection includes both curated works, which at some point I read carefully and can say something sensible about, and new works being published on the topic.

ES
Evgeny Smirnov