scholarly journals Confronted with Bullying when You Believe in a Just World

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Voss ◽  
Leonard S. Newman

Bullying has been recognized as a phenomenon that detrimentally affects the lives of many, and researchers continue to explore its various influences and correlates. We examined the relationship between the global belief in a just world (BJW; a person’s tendency to believe that life is fair and people get what they deserve) and reactions to bullying. Although BJW is undergirded by a justice motive, and although previous research found that global BJW is associated with more negative explicit attitudes toward bullying in the abstract, we hypothesized that strong global BJW beliefs would instead predict more tolerance and less condemnation when participants were presented with specific behaviors that could be construed as bullying. In two vignette-based experiments, global BJW (but not personal BJW), predicted less negative reactions to bullying, and did so regardless of whether the behavior was explicitly labeled as being a case of bullying. Implications of these results are discussed.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (21) ◽  

Violence is being researched increasingly. However, these studies mostly focus on explicit attitudes. Studies focusing on the implicit cognitive structure point to three implicit attitudes: Implicit attitudes towards gender, implicit attitudes towards violence, and implicit associations between gender and violence. In the present study, it is aimed to examine the relationship between these implicit attitudes of men and their demographic characteristics including age, education, employment status, income and socio-economic status, and Belief in a Just World (BJW). To measure implicit attitudes, three Implicit Association Tests (IATs) were translated into Turkish. Two hundred two men, aged between 18 and 55 years (M. = 27.96, SD = 9.68), participated in the study. The findings revealed that implicit attitudes towards gender and violence were associated with age, but not with other demographics. While implicit associations between gender and violence did not differ in terms of demographics, they were found to be related to implicit attitudes towards gender and General BJW. The results were evaluated in the context of normalizing violence against women in society. It is thought that the IATs used can contribute to the intervention programs in Turkey, and the findings obtained with this demographically diverse sample can contribute to the relevant literature. Keywords Belief in a just world, male violence, Implicit Association Test, implicit attitudes


1980 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clayton T. Shorkey

The relationship between rational thinking and belief in a just world was examined using scores on the Rational Behavior Inventory and the Just World Scale from 129 undergraduate students. It was hypothesized that rational thinking would be incompatible with absolutistic beliefs that the world is a just place. A Pearson coefficient of —.11 was computed between scores on the two scales; this supports the hypothesis that neither absolutistic acceptance nor rejection of a belief in a just world is related to rational thinking.


1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Bass ◽  
Tim Barnett ◽  
Gene Brown

Abstract:This study examined the relationship between the individual difference variables of personal moral philosophy, locus of control, Machiavellianism, and just world beliefs and ethical judgments and behavioral intentions. A sample of 602 marketing practitioners participated in the study. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships. The results either fully or partially supported hypothesized direct effects for idealism, relativism, and Machiavellianism. Findings also suggested that Machiavellianism mediated the relationship between individual difference variables and ethical judgments/behavioral intentions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick Daenen ◽  
Joanna McParland ◽  
Fleur Baert ◽  
Megan Marie Miller ◽  
Adam Todd Hirsh ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Adams

AbstractThis paper seeks to improve the persuasiveness of oral health campaigns by investigating the relationship between implicit and explicit attitudes to British accents. Forty-seven participants from Tayside, East Scotland, first completed an implicit task which asked participants to judge the truth value of 120 trivia statements, divided into six different accents, as quickly as possible. This was complimented by an identical written task at the end of the experiment in less pressurised conditions. Both audio and written responses to the statements were analysed using signal detection theory, which revealed that Estuary English was more persuasive than the local accent, Dundee English (p = 0.039), and the stigmatised multi-ethnolect, Multicultural London English (p = 0.002). Participants also completed an explicit task involving two matched-guise tests with the same six accents in a neutral and dental context. Results update our knowledge of explicit attitudes to British accents in a modern linguistic landscape, and shed light on correlations between implicit and explicit attitudes. Using Bassili and Brown’s (2005) Potentiated Recruitment Framework, it is argued that the relationship is mediated by participants’ self-presentation concerns and the perceived social penalties of expressing bias. Sociolinguistic implications of implicit measurement procedures are discussed regarding the development of oral health campaigns.


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (17) ◽  
pp. 2591-2604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belén López-Pérez ◽  
Yaniv Hanoch ◽  
Kayleigh Holt ◽  
Michaela Gummerum

Bullying extracts a heavy toll on offenders and prison staff alike. Studying what factors may affect bullying is extremely important as this may help to minimize bullying in prison. Although there is research on the relationship between lack of empathy and positive attitude toward bullying, previous research has overlooked that age may influence this relationship. In fact, previous research has shown that there are changes in empathy across the life span. Therefore, we examined whether having a positive attitude toward bullying in offenders was predicted by age, mediated by cognitive/affective empathy. Another important factor in the prediction of positive attitudes toward bullying may be the belief in a just world, as having a weak belief is related to more aggressive outbursts. Given that there is scarce research in the topic, we examined the relationship between having a positive attitude toward bullying and personal belief in a just world. To that aim, 123 sentenced adult male prisoners, selected from a Category C prison in the United Kingdom completed different questionnaires to assess their levels of cognitive and affective empathy, positive attitude toward bullying, and personal belief in a just world. As expected, age predicted a positive attitude toward bullying, mediated by affective empathy. However, we did not find a positive relationship between a positive attitude toward bullying and a personal belief in a just world. The results are discussed in terms of their application in possible intervention programs.


1982 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Feinberg ◽  
Amy Powell ◽  
Franklin G. Miller

The just world hypothesis provides an explanation for the finding that observers derogate victims. By admitting the appropriateness of a victim's fate., observers may develop a sense of control over the possibility of similar fates. Two experiments investigated the relationship between, the magnitude of motivation for control over the environment and tendency to derogate victims. In Experiment One, situational controllability and uncontrollability were manipulated within a learned helplessness procedure and derogation of a victimized stranger assessed. In Experiment Two, subjects completed the Need for Control and Belief in the Just World scales, measures of the motivation for environmental control and the tendency to derogate victims. The results indicate that motivation and need for control underlie victim derogation.


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