I would like to thank Detlef Fetchenhauer, Erik Hoelzl, and Erich Kirchler for their critical and helpful comments on a previous draft of the manuscript. I would also like to thank my colleagues at the Department of Economic and Social Psychology of the University of Cologne for further critical and helpful suggestions.
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Original Article
The Belief in a Just World as a Personal Resource in the Context of Inflation and Financial Crises
Article first published online: 23 FEB 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2012.00489.x
© 2012 The Author. Applied Psychology: An International Review © 2012 International Association of Applied Psychology.
Additional Information
How to Cite
Christandl, F. (2013), The Belief in a Just World as a Personal Resource in the Context of Inflation and Financial Crises. Applied Psychology:An International Review, 62: 486–518. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2012.00489.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 3 MAY 2013
- Article first published online: 23 FEB 2012
- Abstract
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This paper examines the role of the belief in a just world as a personal resource when people are faced with the adverse consequences of inflation and financial crises by presenting results from two longitudinal studies. The first study, based on responses from 262 German residents, found that participants with a strong personal belief in a just world perceived a lower economic impact in light of price increases following a tax increase. This effect remained stable after controlling for the socioeconomic variables of gender, age, household income, and education. The second study, based on a sample of 177 German residents, found that residents with a strong personal belief in a just world perceived a lower economic impact in light of the global subprime mortgage crisis. Again, this effect remained stable after controlling for the socioeconomic variables of gender, age, household income, and education. Furthermore, the personal belief in a just world influenced perceived economic impact over time and the relationship between personal belief in a just world and perceived economic impact was partially mediated by differences between life satisfaction in the future as measured in a first wave and current life satisfaction as measured in a second wave.