The Just-World Phenomenon is associated with religiosity, conservatism, and negative attitudes toward underprivileged groups. This may help explain differences in social policy preferences ...

If the belief in a just world simply resulted in humans feeling more comfortable with the universe and its capriciousness, it would not be a matter of great concern for ethicists or social scientists.

I’m talking about the Just World Hypothesis, a scientific theory first developed by the social psychologist Melvin Lerner. Consider this clever experiment, conducted in 1965: ...

When people want to believe that the world is just, and that bad things won’t happen to them, ... have been conducting research that they hope will address the phenomenon of victim blaming head-on.