Judgments of Fairness by Just World Believers

Abstract

The author investigated the effects of just world belief on the egocentric fairness bias among Japanese undergraduates. After responding to the Just World (JW) Scale (Rubin & Peplau, 1975) and to a set of fair and unfair behaviors, the participants were divided into 2 groups (low JW and high JW) according to their responses to the scale. The egocentric fairness bias was confirmed; the participants tended to consider their own behaviors as fair rather than unfair and other people's behaviors as unfair rather than fair. High-JW participants regarded their own behaviors as fairer and those of other people as less fair than did low-JW participants. The egocentric fairness bias was stronger in the participants who believed strongly in a just world than in those whose belief in a just world was weaker.