A global anti-fraud organisation recently issued a statement claiming that a female influencer from the mainland had been drugged at a bar in Bangkok, then trafficked to the KK Park compound and sexually assaulted. It was further alleged that, in trying to flee the compound, she fell from the fourth floor and tragically became paralysed from the waist down. Although the truth of the case has yet to be verified, it sparked heated discussion online. Some sympathised with what the influencer had been through; others argued that she had chased pleasure and brought it on herself.
From the KK Park compound in faraway Myanmar to the Diamond Hill killings here in Hong Kong, there are times when we cannot help but lament: why is it that good people so often go unrewarded in real life, and why do innocent people come to harm? Everyone hopes for a world that is fair and equal, yet the gap between reality and that ideal often leaves us anxious and uneasy. From a psychological perspective, when people are in distress, an adaptive mechanism kicks in, and the mind naturally looks for ways to make up the difference. Take the influencer's case: some people will conclude that the victim brought it on herself — that a woman who goes to a bar for fun should bear the risk — and so we end up with the phenomenon of telling victims "I told you so" or blaming the victim. In psychology, we might explain this phenomenon through the "Just World Belief".
Examining the victim's psychological defence mechanism — the Just World Belief
In 1966, psychologists ran an experiment in which participants had to watch a film clip. Whenever the person in the clip made a small mistake (such as answering a question incorrectly), they would receive a disproportionate electric shock and appear to be in intense pain. The experiment's real aim was to observe the reactions of those watching the film, so the participants in the clip were all actors and were not actually being shocked. When the viewers were asked afterwards how they regarded the affair, they did not question the behaviour of the person administering the shocks; instead, they tended to understand the event from the angle of blaming the victim, feeling that the person in the clip must have done something wrong to deserve such treatment.
This psychological phenomenon can be understood as a kind of defence mechanism. We all want to live in a fair and equal utopia — one where, so long as we put something good in, we will of course get something good back. A world like that is easier for us to grasp and to predict. An unpredictable reality, by contrast, brings us unease. From this we can see that the Just World Belief in fact also serves a psychologically protective function.
Beyond being a form of psychological protection, the Just World theory is also regarded by psychologists as a kind of cognitive bias (Cognitive bias). The fact is that some misfortunes do befall people at random. Sexual assault, for instance, may have nothing whatsoever to do with what someone was wearing — the act might be sparked only by a momentary urge in the offender, with no regard at all for the victim's clothing. Examples of people coming to harm for no reason and through no fault of their own are everywhere. In such cases, the Just World Belief serves to protect our own psyche: by examining the victim, even pointing the finger at them, we make sense of injustices that are otherwise hard to explain.
Personal vs General Just World Belief (Belief in Just World – General vs Personal)
The difference between personal and general Just World Belief lies in the scope to which it applies. General Just World Belief means that the world at large is a place where "good people get their reward" — that other people who do good things will receive good in return. Personal Just World Belief, by contrast, focuses on one's own behaviour and the outcomes one receives. Research has also found that personal Just World Belief affects an individual's sense of life satisfaction and brings different kinds of psychological benefit. Studies show that most people who hold a personal Just World Belief believe the world treats them fairly, and that the rewards and punishments they receive are therefore deserved. Those holding this belief are better able to adapt to their external environment, and they trust that they can find a fair principle to guide their own conduct.
Suppose we are university students who have not done as well as we hoped in an exam. A person with a strong Just World Belief will take the exam system to be fair, and will believe that the disappointing result came about because they had not prepared enough — which in turn drives them to study harder. This kind of behaviour is more adaptive and helps the individual adjust to their environment more easily. Conversely, if someone's personal Just World Belief is weak, we might view the outcome from a different angle — feeling, for example, that it was down to bad luck, or that the professor had it in for us. That kind of thinking rarely prompts us to take any action; it struggles to spur us to study harder, and so we remain caught in a negative cycle.
Attitude makes all the difference — the self-fulfilling prophecy of a just world (Self-fulfilling Prophecy)
A person's Just World Belief is also a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.
A self-fulfilling prophecy unfolds in three stages: belief, behaviour and reality. Belief shapes our behaviour, behaviour shapes reality, and reality in turn reinforces our original belief, completing a cycle. If friends or colleagues bully and pressure us in every way, and we choose to suffer in silence, that behaviour only encourages them to grow worse. The reality of being bullied then reinforces our belief that the world is unjust, confirming our conviction that good people end up cheated. On the other hand, if we have the courage to defend our own principles and values, and to express the attitude that we deserve to be treated fairly, we may be able to change how others treat us — and in doing so, strengthen our own Just World Belief.
How to be a good person? Putting morality into practice in a just world
You will notice that some people in high positions, or who are very capable, hold values that are not necessarily the same as ours — some might even be called wicked. Ability and morality are often two entirely different things. Why is it that some people can be born into wealthy and powerful families, do all manner of evil, and yet still seem to face no consequences? These are very real laments. Our goals can feel a long way off: some people hope to live in a just world, and some hope for a society in which everyone is equal. But look at the Hong Kong we live in today, and even that one goal already feels very distant.
A goal will not necessarily be reached in the future, but it at least represents the values we hold fast to. In The Happiness Trap, Russ Harris argues that Goals and Values are closely intertwined. When we find that a goal is too far out of reach, we cannot help but feel frustrated and anxious. But we can use a goal to ask ourselves "why", and so explore our values. Say, for instance, your goal is to live in a just and civilised society; you can ask yourself why you value a society like that, and the answer will most likely be the values you stand by. Unlike a goal, a value has no such thing as being "achieved" or not — it is simply a yardstick in your heart. We may have no way of changing society as a whole, but in our daily lives we can look for ways to act in a manner that gives expression to these values.
In our everyday dealings with family and friends, and even at the level of society, matters large and small are in fact all bound up with the idea of fairness. Even over the most trivial differences of opinion — such as choosing with a partner where to go for dinner, or who takes on which chores at home — we can ask ourselves how we might give expression to the value of fairness in these seemingly trivial places. If a fair society is a distant great "blueprint", then in daily life we complete that goal one stroke at a time. Even if our real circumstances do not match our expectations, we still have ways to live out the values we hold.
On a physical level, the world has never had any rule in place to uphold social justice and fairness. But human beings possess a conscience that grants us the ability to tell right from wrong. A just world has never lain in some external physical rule; rather, it is created with our own hands and feet, out of the conscience we are born with. Talent can be a kind of gift, goodness is our choice, and what we have the power to change is how to strike a balance between the two. However outstanding one's natural gifts may be, if we choose not to invest in the direction of good, there is no meaning in it either. If you believe your values and convictions are right, then however much effort you put into reaching your goal, it is worth it.
References
Personal Just World Belief is correlated with wellbeing Bartholomaeus, J., & Strelan, P. (2019). The adaptive, approach-oriented correlates of belief in a just world for the self: A review of the research. Personality and Individual Differences, 151, 109485.
People who hold Just-World Belief hold a less positive attitude towards victims Silver, K. E., Karakurt, G., & Boysen, S. T. (2015). Predicting prosocial behaviour toward sex-trafficked persons: The roles of empathy, belief in a just world, and attitudes toward prostitution. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 24(8), 932-954.
Goal vs Values Harris, R. (2022). The happiness trap: How to stop struggling and start living. Shambhala Publications.
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