Abstract
The central theme of the “Belief in a Just World” theory creates a rather chilling image of humanity. It begins by describing how we live in a society that tolerates the widespread suffering and deprivation of innocent victims. Then the evidence is added that, for the sake of our own security, we either avoid these injustices, or we add to them by finding reasons to condemn the victims. We do this for quite understandable reasons. We want to—have to—believe that our world is so constructed that terrible things happen to people who deserve them because they were “terrible” to others.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1980 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lerner, M.J. (1980). Reactions to the Belief in a Just World Theory and Findings. In: The Belief in a Just World. Perspectives in Social Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0448-5_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0448-5_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0450-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0448-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive