Who believes in a just world

Research with the Just World Scale has indicated that many people believe that the world is a place where good people are rewarded and bad people are punished. Believers in a just world have been found to l i e more likely than nonbelievers to admire fortunate people and to derogate victims, thus permitting the believers to maintain the perception that people in fact get what they deserve. Other studies have shed light on the antecedents, correlates, and social consequences of the belief in a just world. Everyone may have a version of the just wolld belief in early childhood (Piaget's "immanent justice"), but some people outgrow the belief quickly and some apparently never do. Believers in a just world have been found to be more religious, more authoritarian, and more oriented toward the internal control of reinforcements than nonbelievers. They are also more likely to admire political leaders and existing social institutions, and to have negative attitudes toward underprivileged groups. Suggestions for modifying the belief in a just world are offered, focusing on the socialization techniques employed by parents, teachers, religious insti-tutions, and the mass media. Both sides of a fundamental religious controversy are set forth in the biblical Book of Job. God tests the faith of Job, a righteous man, by inflicting tremendous suffering upon him, depriving him first of his children, then of his wealth, and finally of his health. Job's friends try to convince him that suffering is necessarily the result of sin, and that therefore he should repent. "Behold, " oneof them declares, "God will not cast awayan innocent man, neither will he uphold evildoers " (Job 8:20). The friends Correspondence regarding this article may be addressed to 2. Rubin