System justification
System justification theory (SJT) is a scientific theory within social psychology that proposes people have a motivation to defend and bolster the status quo, that is, to see it as good, legitimate, and desirable.
According to system justification theory, people not only want to hold favorable attitudes about themselves (ego-justification) and their own groups (group-justification), but they also want to hold favorable attitudes about the overarching social order (system-justification). A consequence of this tendency is that existing social, economic, and political arrangements tend to be preferred, and alternatives to the status quo are disparaged.[1]
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[edit] Examples of system justification
Early SJT research focused on compensatory stereotypes. Experiments suggested that the widespread endorsement of stereotypes such as "poor but happy" or "rich but miserable" exist to balance out the gap between those of low and high socioeconomic status.[2] Later work suggested that these compensatory stereotypes are preferred by those on the left while people on the right prefer non-complimentary stereotypes such as "poor and dishonest" or "rich and honest", which rationalize inequality rather than compensate for it.[3]
According to system justification theory, this motive is not unique to members of dominant groups, who benefit the most from the current regime; it also affects the thoughts and behaviors of members of groups who are seemingly incurring disadvantages by it (e.g., poor people, racial/ethnic minorities). System justification theory therefore accounts for counter-intuitive evidence that members of disadvantaged groups often support the societal status quo (at least to some degree), often at considerable cost to themselves and to fellow group members.[4]
[edit] Relationship to other psychological theories
System justification theory differs from the status quo bias in that it is predominately motivational rather than cognitive. Generally, the status quo bias refers to a tendency to prefer the default or established option when making choices. In contrast, system justification posits that people need and want to see prevailing social systems as fair and just. The motivational component of system justification means that its effects are exacerbated when people are under psychological threat or when they feel their outcomes are especially dependent on the system that is being justified.[5]
[edit] See also
- False consciousness
- Groupthink
- Ideology
- Just-world phenomenon
- List of cognitive biases
- Progress trap
- Status quo bias
[edit] References
- ^ Jost, John T.; Banaji, Mahzarin R. (1994). "The role of stereotyping in system-justification and the production of false consciousness". British Journal of Social Psychology 33: 1–27. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1994.tb01008.x.
- ^ Kay, Aaron C.; Jost, John T. (2003). "Complementary Justice: Effects of "Poor but Happy" and "Poor but Honest" Stereotype Exemplars on System Justification and Implicit Activation of the Justice Motive". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 85 (5): 823–837. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.823.
- ^ Kay, Aaron C.; Czaplinski, Syzmon; Jost, John T. (2009). "C Left-right ideological differences in system justification following exposure to complementary versus noncomplementary stereotype exemplars". European Journal of Social Psychology 39 (2): 290–298. doi:10.1002/ejsp.500.
- ^ Jost, John T.; Banaji, Mahzarin R.; Nosek, Brian A. (2004). "A decade of system justification theory: Accumulated evidence of conscious and unconscious bolstering of the status quo". Political Psychology 25 (6): 881–919. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2004.00402.x.
- ^ Kay, Aaron C.; Gaucher, Danielle; Peach, Jennifer M.; Laurin, Kristin; Friesen, Justin; Zanna, Mark P.; Spencer, Steven J. (2009). "Inequality, Discrimination, and the Power of the Status Quo: Direct Evidence for a Motivation to See the Way Things Are as the Way They Should Be". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 97 (3): 421–434. doi:10.1037/a0015997. PMID 19685999.
- Hanson, Jon. (2007). Thanksgiving as “System Justification”?. Retrieved December 1, 2007 from The Situationist. Website: http://thesituationist.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/thanksgiving-as-system-justification/
- Jost, J.T., & Hunyady, O. (2005). Antecedents and consequences of system-justifying ideologies. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 260-265.
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