The mediating role of perceived control and hopelessness in the relation between personal belief in a just world and life satisfaction
Introduction
The just world hypothesis posits that individuals tend to believe in a just world in which they get what they deserve and deserve what they get (Lerner, 1980). In other words, according to this belief, individuals believe that good things will happen to good people while bad things happen to bad people. According to Lerner (1980), individuals' tendency to believe in a just world arises from their need to live in a world that is orderly, controllable, and predictable. Belief in a just world (BJW) provides individuals with the idea that if they behave justly towards others, they will be treated justly in return and they will not become victims in the future (Lerner, 1980). As Lerner and Miller (1978) stated, this intuitive belief enables individuals to confront their physical and social environment as though it were stable and orderly. Thus, it provides individuals with vital functions (see Dalbert, 2001; Hafer & Sutton, 2016).
The present study focuses on whether control perception and hopelessness are remarkable factors considering the adaptive functions of BJW in a sample of university students. By considering increased life satisfaction as an adaptive consequence, we investigate the association between BJW and life satisfaction and the mediating roles of perceived control and hopelessness in this association. It is clear that late adolescence and early adulthood are crucial periods for the engagement in future goals (see Nurmi, 1991) and life satisfaction is negatively related to adverse outcomes in such samples (e.g., Murphy, McDevitt-Murphy, & Barnett, 2005). Thus, it is essential to understand life satisfaction levels of university students within this framework.
To date, three functions of BJW have been identified (Dalbert, 2001). First, the motive function compels individuals to behave in a just manner. According to Lerner (1977), individuals feel that they have a personal contract between themselves and their social environment, and they respect the terms of this contract by acting justly. Studies have shown that BJW is positively associated with helping people in need (Bierhoff, Klein, & Kramp, 1991) and obeying rules (Otto & Dalbert, 2005). Consequently, the trust function enables individuals to anticipate that they will be treated justly by others in the future. Studies (e.g., Zuckerman & Gerbasi, 1977) have shown that BJW is associated with interpersonal trust. This trust has many adaptive functions; for example, individuals with a strong BJW are more likely to invest in their future. Hafer (2000b) observed that individuals who engaged in long-term goals were more likely to defend their BJW when confronted with a threat to their BJW. Moreover, it was found that BJW functions as a buffer by reducing external risks for individuals in need (Dalbert, 2001). In addition, individuals with a strong BJW are more likely to expect to be confronted with just tasks; thus, they tend to feel less threatened and perform better in these tasks (Tomaka & Blascovich, 1994).
Third, the assimilation function provides individuals with a conceptual framing that helps them interpret their experiences in a meaningful way (Lerner, 1977). Strong believers in a just world tend to see the events of their personal life not as random but as predictable (Lerner & Miller, 1978). Since this strengthens their perceived control, they evaluate the past as more positive, feel confident that they will also experience positive events in the future (Lipkus & Siegler, 1993), and perceive their experiences as more just than individuals with a weaker BJW (Dalbert & Stoeber, 2006). Studies have provided evidence for the assimilation function of BJW. For example, Otto and Dalbert (2005) showed that young prisoners who endorsed BJW to a greater degree also evaluated their legal proceeding as more just. Similarly, Dalbert and Stoeber (2006) found that adolescents who reported stronger BJW were more likely to evaluate their family and school climate as being just over time.
Indeed, BJW provides individuals with important functions (for a recent review see Hafer & Sutton, 2016), but witnessing and/or experiencing a case of injustice threatens this view. Therefore, strong believers in a just world must defend their belief when they are confronted with a threat (for a review, see Dalbert, 2001). In such a case, if observers are sure that victims are innocent and they believe that they are able to help these victims, they will do so (Dalbert, 2001). For instance, in a study with first aiders who intervened to help the victims of a traffic accident, Bierhoff et al. (1991) found that first responders believed more strongly in a just world than non-helpers.
In some situations, that individuals believe that they cannot restore justice or it is not possible to eliminate injustice. In these cases, strong believers in a just world usually try to assimilate it into their BJW, for example, by blaming themselves (Dalbert, 2001), by blaming the victim (e.g., Hafer, 2000a), or playing down injustice (e.g., Dalbert, 1999). Numerous studies on victim blaming or victim derogation can be found in the literature (e.g., Lambert & Raichle, 2000).
Studies (Dalbert, 1999; Lipkus, Dalbert, & Siegler, 1996) offer evidence that it is necessary to distinguish personal BJW from general BJW. Personal BJW reflects the belief that the events in one's own life are just and general BJW reflects the belief that, basically, the world is a just place. It has been observed that individuals tend to endorse personal BJW more strongly (e.g., Correia & Dalbert, 2007) and these two constructs have different meanings (see Dalbert, 2001). General BJW is associated more with harsh social attitudes such as individual attributions to poverty (e.g., Cozzarelli, Wilkinson, & Tagler, 2001) and supporting the traditional role of women in society (Wagstaff & Quirk, 1983). However, personal BJW is a better predictor of personal outcomes (e.g., Dalbert, 1999). We, therefore, focus on personal BJW in the present study.
Numerous studies have supported the adaptive function of personal BJW. For example, in a study with Slovak unemployed adolescents, Dzuka and Dalbert (2002) revealed that personal BJW buffered the well-being of short-term unemployed adolescents. In a study with German flood victims, Otto, Boos, Dalbert, Schöps, and Hoyer (2006) found that personal, but not general, BJW was negatively associated with anxiety, depression, and general psychological distress, which indicates that personal BJW reduces negative mental health dimensions. Dzuka and Dalbert (2007) also found that personal BJW was adaptively associated with well-being among teachers who experienced student violence: The more they believed in a personal just world, the less frequently they experienced negative affect. In a study with Portuguese and Indian school students, Correia, Kamble, and Dalbert (2009) showed that personal BJW functioned as a protector of well-being, and it was true for bullies, victims, and defenders in both the Portuguese and Indian samples. Correia and Dalbert (2007) observed that students with a strong personal BJW were more likely to feel satisfied with their lives. To test the causal direction of these associations Correia, Batista, and Lima (2009) demonstrated through a series of experimental studies that personal BJW had a positive impact on life satisfaction.
Life satisfaction is considered the cognitive definition of subjective well-being, which examines how individuals assess their own lives and the factors that influence these assessments (see Diener, 1984). Diener and Diener (1996) examined studies with various different samples from different countries and stated that a significant majority of people in these studies scored above the neutral point of well-being, including life satisfaction. Such studies show that this is even true for the members of disadvantaged groups. Researchers indicate that one of the explanations for this may be that individuals presumably are motivated to fulfil pleasant affect and avoid unpleasant affect (Diener & Diener, 1996). Accordingly, research suggests that coping resources are one of the influential factors protecting subjective well-being (see Brickman, Coates, & Janoff-Bulman, 1978; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). As explained earlier, one mechanism that functions as a coping resource is personal BJW. That is, a disposition to believe that the world is personally just serves vital functions to cope with everyday life and these functions mediate the relationship between personal BJW and life satisfaction (for a review, Dalbert, 2001; Hafer & Sutton, 2016).
According to Lerner (1980) “People want to and have to believe they live in a just world so that they can go about their daily lives with a sense of trust, hope, and confidence in their future” (p. 14). Believing in a just world enables individuals to confront their physical and social environment as though they were predictable, stable, and orderly. Further, strong believers in a just world tend to see the outcomes in their lives as the results of their own actions and therefore are more likely to have a high perception of control (see Dalbert, 2001). Moreover, by perceiving their experiences as controllable, such individuals tend to have a positive future perception (e.g., Kerpelman & Mosher, 2004) and they feel better about themselves (e.g., Mirowsky & Ross, 1990). In a study with Chinese undergraduates, Yu, Ren, Huang, and Wang (2018) consistently found that sense of control mediated the effect of personal BJW on subjective well-being. Based on the cited literature, a positive association between personal BJW and life satisfaction is expected and it is estimated that perceived control and hopelessness should mediate this association. Studies (e.g., Gnilka, Ashby, & Noble, 2013) suggest that life satisfaction is related to hopelessness as well. At this point, hopelessness can be considered to be associated with life satisfaction, perceived control, and personal BJW.
Hopelessness is defined as a system of cognitive schemas for which a common denominator is negative expectations about the future (Beck, Weissman, Lester, & Trexler, 1974; Durak & Palabıyıkoğlu, 1994). Hopeless individuals believe that their situation will not improve. In this regard, in his cognitive theory, Beck argued that hopelessness is one of the important signs of depression (Beck et al., 1974; Durak & Palabıyıkoğlu, 1994) and findings have supported this perspective. For example, in a study with university students, hopelessness predicted future depression (Alford, Lester, Patel, Buchanan, & Giunta, 1995). Personal BJW, however, has been found to act as a buffer for the hopeless mood state of individuals (e.g., Nudelman, Otto, & Dalbert, 2016). Sutton, Stoeber, and Kamble (2017) found that BJW-self was positively associated with optimistic future directed thinking among university students. Moreover, Bartholomaeus and Strelan (2016) showed that strong believers in a just world tend to see challenges in their life as opportunities for growth rather than as obstacles. These results provide further support that personal BJW is negatively related to hopelessness. As hopelessness leads to negative cognitive schemas when evaluating one's experiences (Beck et al., 1974; Durak & Palabıyıkoğlu, 1994), it decreases life satisfaction levels of individuals (e.g., Gnilka et al., 2013). Thus, it would be expected that hopelessness might also have a mediating role in the relationship between personal BJW and life satisfaction.
Studies indicate that both life satisfaction (Wardle et al., 2004) and hopelessness (Clements, Sabourin, & Spiby, 2004) are closely associated with perceived control. The belief that one has control over his/her life provides the individual with the means to evaluate the past as more positive and feel more confident that he/she will experience positive events in the future (Lipkus & Siegler, 1993). This helps individuals to invest in their future (Hafer, 2000b) and maintain their subjective well-being (Dalbert, 2001). From this point of view, perceived control is thought to play an important role in the relationship between personal BJW, hopelessness, and life satisfaction.
In sum, one's desire for confidence in the future and maintaining life with a sense of trust are the basis for believing in just world. To keep hope alive and invest in the future, individuals must believe that they can have control over their lives and predict the events in their future (Lerner, 1980). As studies have shown, believing that the world is a just place serves this purpose and explains individuals' needs to defend their belief when confronted with a threat. Finally, this relation enables individuals to experience greater satisfaction with their lives no matter what they have experienced (see Dalbert, 2001; Hafer & Sutton, 2016). In accordance with this reasoning, the positive association between personal BJW and well-being have been clearly demonstrated (e.g., Correia et al., 2009; Correia & Dalbert, 2007). However, the mechanism underlying how personal BJW influences well-being requires further exploration.
Although sparse, studies have investigated mediating variables in the relationship of various types of BJW and different dimensions of well-being. For example, Xie, Liu, and Gan (2011) observed the mediating effects of future orientation and feelings of uncertainty on the relationship of BJW, including ultimate BJW, unjust world belief and personal BJW, and well-being among earthquake victims. In another study, Jiang, Yue, Lu, Yu, and Zhu (2016) found that optimism and gratitude mediated global BJW by increasing subjective well-being and decreasing depression, meaning that BJW can promote mental health by increasing optimism and gratitude. Other studies have focused on different domains of justice perceptions as a mediator. For example, in a study with Indian school students, Kamble and Dalbert (2012) found that the effect of personal BJW on well-being was mediated by teacher and family justice.
Additional studies have indicated that sense of control mediates the association between personal BJW and life satisfaction (e.g., Yu et al., 2018) and that personal BJW decreases hopelessness (e.g., Nudelman et al., 2016), which has a negative impact on life satisfaction (e.g., Gnilka et al., 2013). Moreover, the studies summarized thus far indicate that personal BJW increases sense of control (Yu et al., 2018) and a sense of control increases looking to the future with hope (i.e., decreases individuals' hopelessness levels) (e.g., Lerner, 1980). It would be expected that all of these sequential associations would increase life satisfaction. More specifically, it would be expected that personal BJW increase perceived control, which in turn decreases hopelessness and subsequently increases life satisfaction. To our knowledge, these associations have not been investigated together. The present study aims to extend the underlying mechanism by investigating the mediating role of perceived control and hopelessness in the relationship between personal BJW and well-being among university students.
While personal BJW should be positively associated with 1) life satisfaction and 2) perceived control, it should be negatively associated with 3) hopelessness. 4) Greater perceived control and 5) less hopelessness should relate with greater life satisfaction.
Personal BJW should increase life satisfaction uniquely through both 6) increased perceived control and 7) decreased hopelessness. Finally, 8) perceived control and hopelessness should sequentially mediate the association between personal BJW and life satisfaction.
Section snippets
Participants
The study sample consisted of 354 students from various departments of state universities in two different cities in Turkey voluntarily participated in the study. One participant with missing gender information was excluded. Thus, the study included 353 Turkish students aged between 17 and 35 years (M = 20.33; SD = 2.42), of which 212 (60%) were female and 141 (40%) male.
Belief in a just world
The Personal Belief in a Just World Scale captures the belief that one personally gets what one deserves. The scale consists
Results
Descriptive statistics and zero-order correlations among study variables (personal BJW, perceived control, hopelessness, and life satisfaction) were computed (see Table 1). Results of the correlation analyses showed that the study variables were correlated in the expected directions. Specifically, while life satisfaction was positively correlated with personal BJW and perceived control, it was negatively correlated with hopelessness. In addition, personal BJW was positively associated with
Discussion
This study investigated the mediating role of perceived control and hopelessness in the relation between personal BJW and life satisfaction. In sum, the results of the study supported our hypotheses. The more the participants endorsed personal BJW, the more control they perceived over their lives; the less hopelessness they experienced, the more they were satisfied with their lives. The association between personal BJW and life satisfaction was uniquely mediated by both perceived control and
Conflict of interest
Author Gözde Kiral Ucar declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Derya Hasta declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Meryem Kaynak Malatyali declares that she has no conflict of interest.
Funding
This study was not funded by any company or institution.
Ethical approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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2021, Personality and Individual DifferencesCitation Excerpt :As a cognitive bias that may exist when people look at the world, this belief can predict the mental health and social behavior of believers. Many studies have linked belief in a just world to mental health (e.g., life satisfaction, positive affect and self-esteem; Correia, Batista, & Lima 2009; Kiral Ucar et al. 2019; Donat et al., 2016; Dalbert 2002). And this belief can be an important psychological resource in people's daily lives (Dalbert 2001).
Being fair in an unfair world: The deleterious effect on self-esteem
2021, Personality and Individual DifferencesCitation Excerpt :A secondary aim of this study was to test the mechanism by which BJW-self predicts enhanced self-esteem. Consistent with theorizing suggesting that BJW-self offers individuals a sense of control (Lerner, 1980), other studies have found that control mediates between BJW-self and decreased hopelessness and increased life satisfaction (Ucar et al., 2019), and individuals with strong BJW-self who perceive they have control over their outcomes are more likely to exhibit optimistic bias (Strelan & Callisto, 2020). We now add to this literature, showing that BJW-self obtains its positive effect on self-esteem via a reassuring sense of control.
In control, optimistic, and resilient: Age-related effects of believing in a just world among adolescents
2021, Personality and Individual DifferencesCitation Excerpt :It is profoundly reassuring to believe that the world is just, not least because, according to Lerner, BJW encourages a feeling of control, for which humans have a fundamental need (e.g., Baumeister, 1999). Empirically, the relation between BJW and control is well-established (e.g., Ucar et al., 2019). BJW, meanwhile, is associated with a range of adaptive personal outcomes (for a review see Bartholomaeus & Strelan, 2019).