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Psychology
intermediate

The Importance of Distinguishing the Belief in a Just World for Self Versus for Others: Implications for Psychological Well-Being

Isaac M. Lipkusa et al. (1996)

Published
Jul 1, 1996
Journal
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · Vol. 22 · No. 7
DOI
10.1177/0146167296227002
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At a GlanceAI

Distinguishing BJW for self vs others shows BJW-self most reliably predicts lower distress and higher life satisfaction.

SummaryAI

This paper argues that links between belief in a just world (BJW) and well-being are clearer when separating BJW “for self” from BJW “for others/general.” Across two studies, BJW-self most consistently predicted lower depression and stress and higher life satisfaction, whereas BJW-other/general was less consistent. When Big Five personality traits were controlled, both BJW-self and BJW-other still predicted life satisfaction, but not depression or stress. The work implies BJW is multidimensional and that specifying the target of justice beliefs matters for understanding mental health correlates.

Method SnapshotAI

Two correlational survey studies measured BJW-self/BJW-other, well-being indicators, and Big Five traits and tested their predictive relations via multivariate analyses.

BackgroundAI

Basic knowledge of the belief in a just world construct, common well-being measures (stress, depression, life satisfaction), and Big Five personality.

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