CRJ 305 Small Group Discussion #1
SPRING Monday/Wednesday 4:30 pm-5:45 pm
Group Members: Erin Kirkpatrick, Kayla Heckel and Lindsey Gillis
The Just World Hypothesis
Our tendency to blame the victim also stems in part from our need to believe that the world is a
fair and just place. When something bad happens to another person, we often believe that they
must have done something to deserve such a fate. Social psychologists refer to this tendency as
the just world hypothesis.
As a group, discuss your position/s on a just world hypothesis, summarize your group
discussion in a paragraph or two and then answer the following questions
The Just World Hypothesis is essentially another phrase for karma. It is the human tendency to
justify each thing that happens in the world. It is far easier to believe that crime is a result of
some negative actions, and crime is justified and deserved for victims. The longstanding debate
of why bad things happen to good people can keep us up at night, making the just world
hypothesis a perfect explanation. Additionally, the system consistently punishes criminal by
limiting jobs, housing, and at times punishments from solitary confinement, life in prison, and
even death. As humans, we are naturally empathetic, and can wonder if these are punishments
worthy of a potential mistake. The just world hypothesis essentially takes the blood off our hands
and puts fate in the criminal’s hands. The just world hypothesis applies to offenders and victims.
Why do we feel this need to believe that the world is just and that people get what they
deserve?
We feel the need to believe that the world is just and that people get what they deserve due to
wanting to change the collective thoughts that victims place themselves in certain unsafe
scenarios resulting in the occurrence of a crime. We want to have faith in humanity that if
someone does something wrong to someone else that they will be held responsible for their
actions. We feel the need to believe that the world is just because it is too complex to understand
why humans would want to hurt the innocent, the idea of evil intent is overwhelming. In
addition, we believe that people get what they deserve to justify the retribution aspect of our CJ
system, although rehabilitation is the ultimate goal, there are sentencing aspects related to
retribution.
What do you (as a group- i’m looking for consensus here) believe is behind this tendency to
blame the victim?
Victim blaming is the result of people thinking that victims place themselves in certain
situations, and that overall crime can be avoided. The tendency to blame the victim is done as a
way to make people think that the same crime couldn't happen to them because they would not
do what the victim supposedly did to have the crime happen. We see this frequently in crimes
against women and may be related to the low report rates of crimes like sexual assault.
After studying an appropriate amount of time in preparation for the mid-term in this class,
you fail the test, what would you blame your poor performance on?
We might blame failing the midterm on stress, incorrect study processes, or the way in which
information is presented, whether or not it is straightforward or hard to navigate. It is also
possible that we may have studied the wrong topics, or focused on one area too heavily and the
others not enough. Maybe we blame the professor for not preparing us for the exam throughout
the course.
The hypothesis popularly appears in various figures of speech that imply guaranteed
punishment for wrongdoing… provide one (1) example of such speech
“What goes around comes around”