System justification in organizational contexts: How a Motivated preference for the status quo can affect organizational attitudes and behaviors

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 173-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devon Proudfoot ◽  
Aaron C. Kay
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Organizational Attitudes ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
The Status ◽  
And Behaviors

scholarly journals A Decade of System Justification Theory: Accumulated Evidence of Conscious and Unconscious Bolstering of the Status Quo

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Jost ◽  
Mahzarin R. Banaji ◽  
Brian A. Nosek
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Ingroup Bias ◽  
System Justification Theory ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
The Status ◽  
Outgroup Favoritism

Most theories in social and political psychology stress self-interest, intergroup conflict, ethnocentrism, homophily, ingroup bias, outgroup antipathy, dominance, and resistance. System justification theory is influenced by these perspectives—including social identity and social dominance theories—but it departs from them in several respects. Specifically, we argue that (a) there is a general ideological motive to justify the existing social order, (b) this motive is at least partially responsible for the internalization of inferiority among members of disadvantaged groups, and (c) paradoxically, it is sometimes strongest among those who are most harmed by the status quo. In this article, we review and integrate 10 years of research on 20 hypotheses derived from a system justification perspective, focusing especially on the phenomenon of implicit outgroup favoritism among members of disadvantaged groups (including African Americans, the elderly, and gays/lesbians) and its relation to political ideology (especially liberalism-conservatism).

A new, established approach to managing misbehavior: system justification theory

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Thomas ◽  
Spencer Harris
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Workplace Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
System Justification Theory ◽  
The Status ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
Organizational Scholarship ◽  
Deviant Workplace Behavior

PurposeThe status quo for managing deviant workplace behavior is underperforming. The current research offers a new approach for scholars and managers in approaching these misbehaviors. Namely, we outline how system justification theory, which holds that people are motivated to rationalize and justify the systems—including workplaces—to which they belong even when those systems disadvantage them or others, offers value in explaining and addressing the prevalence of such misbehaviors and contemporary failures in managing them.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual research explores the situated role of onlookers to patterns of workplace misbehavior, like harassment. We explore existing scholarship on why and how onlookers respond to such actions, including cultural elements, and draw parallels between those accounts and the foundational concepts of system justification theory to demonstrate an unrealized theoretical overlap valuable for its immediate applications in research.FindingsThe current paper establishes clear links between system justification theory and efforts to manage misbehavior, establishing system justifications as freezing forces in the culture of a workplace that must be unfrozen to successfully implement strategies for managing misbehavior. Further, we describe how organizational onlookers to misbehavior are subject to system justifications, which limit prescribed means of stopping these patterns of wrongdoing.Originality/valueVery limited organizational scholarship has utilized system justification theory, despite calls for such applications. Given the existing shortcomings in scholarship and management approaches to workplace misbehavior, the current research breaks from the status quo and offers an established theory as a new way to approach these misbehaviors.

scholarly journals Missing in (Collective) Action

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Jost ◽  
Julia Becker ◽  
Danny Osborne ◽  
Vivienne Badaan
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Social Identification ◽  
Moral Outrage ◽  
Perceived Injustice ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Group Efficacy ◽  
The Status ◽  
Psychological Models

Social-psychological models of collective action emphasize three antecedents of protest: (a) anger at perceived injustice, (b) social identification, and (c) beliefs about group efficacy. These models are extremely useful but have rarely incorporated ideological factors—despite the fact that protests occur in societal contexts in which some people are motivated to defend and bolster the status quo whereas others are motivated to challenge and oppose it. We adopt a system-justification perspective to specify when individuals and groups will—and will not—experience moral outrage and whether such outrage will be directed at defenders versus critics of the status quo. We describe evidence that epistemic, existential, and relational needs for certainty, security, and affiliation undermine support for system-challenging protests by increasing system-defensive motivation. We also discuss system-based emotions and backlash against protestors and propose an integrated model of collective action that paves the way for more comprehensive research on the psychological antecedents of social change.

On Social Stability and Social Change

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 360-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron C. Kay ◽  
Justin Friesen
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Personal Control ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
System Justification Theory ◽  
The Status ◽  
System Threat ◽  
Do So

More than a decade of research from the perspective of system-justification theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994) has demonstrated that people engage in motivated psychological processes that bolster and support the status quo. We propose that this motive is highly contextual: People do not justify their social systems at all times but are more likely to do so under certain circumstances. We describe four contexts in which people are prone to engage in system-justifying processes: (a) system threat, (b) system dependence, (c) system inescapability, and (d) low personal control. We describe how and why, in these contexts, people who wish to promote social change might expect resistance.

Victim Derogation and Victim Enhancement as Alternate Routes to System Justification

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron C. Kay ◽  
John T. Jost ◽  
Sean Young
Keyword(s):  
Physical Attractiveness ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Victim Blaming ◽  
Stereotype Activation ◽  
Victim Derogation ◽  
The Status ◽  
Alternate Routes ◽  
System Threat

Numerous studies have documented the potential for victim-blaming attributions to justify the status quo. Recent work suggests that complementary, victim-enhancing stereotypes may also increase support for existing social arrangements. We seek to reconcile these seemingly contradictory findings by proposing that victim derogation and victim enhancement are alternate routes to system justification, with the preferred route depending on the perception of a causal link between trait and outcome. Derogating “losers” (and lionizing “winners”) on traits (e.g., intelligence) that are causally related to outcomes (e.g., wealth vs. poverty) serves to increase system justification, as does compensating “losers” (and down-grading “winners”) on traits (e.g., physical attractiveness) that are causally unrelated to those outcomes. We provide converging evidence using system-threat and stereotype-activation paradigms.

scholarly journals Movin’ on Up? How Perceptions of Social Mobility Affect Our Willingness to Defend the System

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin V. Day ◽  
Susan T. Fiske
Keyword(s):  
Social Mobility ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Societal Change ◽  
Just World Beliefs ◽  
Just World ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
The Status ◽  
Baseline Conditions ◽  
Legitimizing Ideologies

People’s motivation to rationalize and defend the status quo is a major barrier to societal change. Three studies tested whether perceived social mobility—beliefs about the likelihood to move up and down the socioeconomic ladder—can condition people’s tendency to engage in system justification. Compared to information suggesting moderate social mobility, exposure to low social mobility frames consistently reduced defense of the overarching societal system. Two studies examined how this effect occurs. Compared to moderate or baseline conditions, a low social mobility frame reduced people’s endorsement of (typically strong) meritocratic and just-world beliefs, which in turn explained lower system defense. These effects occurred for political liberals, moderates, and conservatives and could not be explained by other system-legitimizing ideologies or people’s beliefs about their own social mobility. Implications for societal change programs are discussed.

The status of education for sustainable development and sustainability knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of UAE University students

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 566-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Khalfan Al-Naqbi ◽  
Qasim Alshannag
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
The Status ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
And Behavior

Purpose This study aims to investigate United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors toward education for sustainable development (ESD) and the environment. Several independent variables (i.e. students’ gender, nationality, college, academic level and grade point average [GPA]) were also considered. Design/methodology/approach This study was descriptive in nature, and the data were obtained using a cross-sectional survey. A total of 823 participants responded to an e-education for sustainable development survey. Several data analysis procedures were used, including descriptive analyses, analyses of variance and t-tests. Findings The study revealed that the UAEU students showed a high level of understanding, very strong positive attitudes and moderate positive behavior toward ESD and the environment. Findings associated with students’ gender, nationality, college, academic level and GPA were also reported and discussed. Research limitations/implications First, the participating students came from one public university. Although this university is a major university in the nation, further studies should include samples from other public and private institutions. Second, this study did not examine the correlation among the three main components: knowledge, attitude and behavior. Thus, similar to other previous studies, the correlations among these three components should be investigated. Third, this study used previous research findings in the areas of ESD, SD and environmental education (EE) because they all relate to each other and ESD is currently the active trend in the field. Originality value No previous ESD studies have been conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), although the country is working hard to support ESD and SD. Therefore, this study explored the current education levels with regard to SD and sustainability knowledge, attitudes and behavior of tertiary students in the UAE. In addition, previous studies have clearly recommended investigating the status of EE and ESD in younger generations, especially those with higher education levels, because they are the agents of change, and they will be affected by the environmental problems that are being created by present human activities.

scholarly journals A Critical Review of the (Un)conscious Basis for System Supporting Attitudes of the Disadvantaged

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuma Kevin Owuamalam ◽  
Mark Rubin ◽  
Russell Spears
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Affirmative Answer ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
System Justification ◽  
System Justification Theory ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
The Status ◽  
Group Interests

Is support for societal systems amongst the disadvantaged driven by an (un)conscious system justification motive that is independent from self-interests? System justification theory (SJT; Jost & Banaji, 1994) is unique in its affirmative answer to this question. SJT proposes (a) that support for societal systems operates in the service of maintaining the status quo, (b) that the evidence for this system justification motive lies with the fact that members of disadvantaged groups (un)consciously support societal systems that are detrimental to their interests, and (c) that these processes are most apparent when group interests are weak. The present article reviews emerging evidence for these propositions and concludes that: (a) an unconscious manifestation of system justification is unlikely based on SJT’s “strong” dissonance-based predictions, which assumes that competing group and system motives are cognitively salient, and (b) a conscious system justification motive is also unlikely amongst the disadvantaged when group interests are weak. In addition, we suggest ways in which to explain system justification effects amongst the disadvantaged without recourse to an (un)conscious system justification motive.

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