The just world hypothesis states that people have a need to believe that their environment is a just and orderly place where people usually get what they deserve. This article reviews the experimental research that has been generated by the just world hypothesis. In light of the existing empirical findings, an elaboration of the initial hypothesis is offered, as are suggestions for potential avenues of future research. Finally, recurrent conceptual misinterpretations and methodological errors found in the literature are identified.

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Under the guise of an experiment on the perception of emotional cues, 72 undergraduate female Ss observed a peer (victim) participating in a pairedassociate learning task. The victim, as a result of making the usual errors, appeared to receive severe and painful electric shocks (negative reinforcement). In describing the suffering victim after these observations, Ss rejected and devalued her when they believed that they would continue to see her suffer in a 2nd session, and when they were powerless to alter the victim's fate. Rejection and devaluation were strongest when the victim was viewed as suffering for the sake of Ss ("martyr" condition). These results offer support for the hypothesis that rejection and devaluation of a suffering victim are primarily based on the observer's need to believe in a just world.

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Ss in this experiment observed 2 people working together at an anagrams task. Ss were told, at the outset, that 1 of the 2 workers was selected by chance to be paid a sizable amount of money for his efforts whereas the other worker was to get nothing. Ss also learned that both workers, though ignorant of their fate, had agreed to do their best. In addition, the 2 workers differed in attractiveness for the Ss-one was considerably more attractive than the other. The major hypotheses of the study were confirmed. Once the outcome was known to the observers they tended to persuade themselves that the person who had been awarded the money by chance had really earned it, after all. Also, when the less attractive worker was selected for payment the performance of the entire group was devalued.