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Personal and General Belief in a Just World: Relationships with Optimism and Support for
Justice Movements Among South African Adults
Abstract
The Belief in a Just World (BJW) has been extensively studied as a psychological construct that
helps individuals navigate fairness and inequality, yet research examining how personal and general
BJW dimensions differentially predict support for collective action addressing structural injustice
remains limited, particularly within the South African context. This study investigated the
relationships between personal BJW, general BJW, optimism, and support for justice movements
among South African adults. Using a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design, data were collected
from a convenience sample of 380 South African adults aged 18 years and older. Participants
completed the Global Belief in a Just World Scale, the Life Orientation Test-Revised, and a measure
of support for justice movements. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to test
five hypotheses. Consistent with expectations, personal BJW was positively associated with support
for justice movements, while general BJW was negatively associated with support for justice
movements. Optimism was positively associated with support for justice movements. Furthermore,
optimism moderated the relationship between personal BJW and support for justice movements,
strengthening the positive association, and moderated the relationship between general BJW and
support for justice movements, weakening the negative association. These findings extend justice
motive theory to the domain of collective action and highlight the importance of considering both
BJW dimensions and optimism in understanding support for social justice efforts in post-colonial
societies.
Introduction
The Belief in a Just World (BJW) represents one of the most extensively researched constructs in
personality and social psychology, addressing fundamental questions about how individuals navigate
fairness, suffering, and inequality within their social environments. Lerner (1980) originally
conceptualised BJW as a motivational need to believe that the world is a just place where people
generally get what they deserve and deserve what they get. This belief serves essential psychological
functions, including enabling individuals to pursue long-term goals with confidence that their efforts
will be fairly rewarded and providing a coherent framework for interpreting both positive and
negative life outcomes. Since its introduction, the construct has undergone significant theoretical
refinement, with researchers recognising that BJW is not monolithic but rather comprises distinct
dimensions that operate differently across contexts and predict divergent psychological and
behavioural outcomes (Furnham, 2003).
The study of BJW holds particular significance within the South African context, a nation
characterised by a complex history of apartheid-era systemic injustice, ongoing socioeconomic
inequality, and contemporary efforts toward social justice and reconciliation. South Africa is
consistently ranked as one of the most unequal countries in the world, with vast disparities in income,
wealth, access to quality education, healthcare, housing, and employment opportunities persisting
along racial lines decades after the formal end of apartheid (Radebe, 2025). Within this context,
understanding how BJW operates becomes critically important for addressing victim-blaming,
justifying inequality, and predicting support for social justice movements.
Personal and General Belief in a Just World: Relationships with Optimism and Support for
Justice Movements Among South African Adults
Abstract
The Belief in a Just World (BJW) has been extensively studied as a psychological construct that
helps individuals navigate fairness and inequality, yet research examining how personal and general
BJW dimensions differentially predict support for collective action addressing structural injustice
remains limited, particularly within the South African context. This study investigated the
relationships between personal BJW, general BJW, optimism, and support for justice movements
among South African adults. Using a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design, data were collected
from a convenience sample of 380 South African adults aged 18 years and older. Participants
completed the Global Belief in a Just World Scale, the Life Orientation Test-Revised, and a measure
of support for justice movements. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to test
five hypotheses. Consistent with expectations, personal BJW was positively associated with support
for justice movements, while general BJW was negatively associated with support for justice
movements. Optimism was positively associated with support for justice movements. Furthermore,
optimism moderated the relationship between personal BJW and support for justice movements,
strengthening the positive association, and moderated the relationship between general BJW and
support for justice movements, weakening the negative association. These findings extend justice
motive theory to the domain of collective action and highlight the importance of considering both
BJW dimensions and optimism in understanding support for social justice efforts in post-colonial
societies.
Introduction
The Belief in a Just World (BJW) represents one of the most extensively researched constructs in
personality and social psychology, addressing fundamental questions about how individuals navigate
fairness, suffering, and inequality within their social environments. Lerner (1980) originally
conceptualised BJW as a motivational need to believe that the world is a just place where people
generally get what they deserve and deserve what they get. This belief serves essential psychological
functions, including enabling individuals to pursue long-term goals with confidence that their efforts
will be fairly rewarded and providing a coherent framework for interpreting both positive and
negative life outcomes. Since its introduction, the construct has undergone significant theoretical
refinement, with researchers recognising that BJW is not monolithic but rather comprises distinct
dimensions that operate differently across contexts and predict divergent psychological and
behavioural outcomes (Furnham, 2003).
The study of BJW holds particular significance within the South African context, a nation
characterised by a complex history of apartheid-era systemic injustice, ongoing socioeconomic
inequality, and contemporary efforts toward social justice and reconciliation. South Africa is
consistently ranked as one of the most unequal countries in the world, with vast disparities in income,
wealth, access to quality education, healthcare, housing, and employment opportunities persisting
along racial lines decades after the formal end of apartheid (Radebe, 2025). Within this context,
understanding how BJW operates becomes critically important for addressing victim-blaming,
justifying inequality, and predicting support for social justice movements.
