Just-World Hypothesis
Definition
Melvin Lerner's finding that people tend to believe the world is fundamentally fair, which can lead observers to blame a victim for their own misfortune rather than accept that harm can fall on someone blameless.
Related terms
- Acute Stress Disorder (ASD)
- A trauma-related disorder diagnosed when intrusion, avoidance, negative mood and arousal symptoms appear within a month of a traumatic event and last...
- Post-Traumatic Growth
- Positive psychological change reported by some survivors as a result of struggling with a highly challenging event, alongside, not instead of, ongoing...
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- A recognised psychological disorder that can follow exposure to traumatic events including criminal victimisation. Diagnostic criteria include intrusive re-experiencing, avoidance, negative mood...
- Resilience
- A stable trajectory of relatively low psychological disturbance in the months after a traumatic event, without a period of clinical disorder; the...
- Direct Financial Loss
- Cost caused immediately by the offence itself, such as stolen property value, property damage or medical bills for a physical injury.
- Indirect Economic Cost
- Cost that follows from the offence rather than being the offence's direct object, such as lost wages, counselling fees or relocation expenses.
- Institutional Betrayal
- Harm that occurs when an institution a person depends on for safety, such as a police force, a court, a school or...
- Victim Anger
- Anger directed at the offender, the justice system or bystanders, at least as common as fear after victimisation and often renewed by...
Explained in these topics
- Impact of Victimisation: PTSD and ASD (UGC-NET Unit X)
- Psychological and Physical Impact of VictimisationThe belief, described by Melvin Lerner, that the world is fundamentally fair and that people generally get what they deserve, which can lead observers to blame...