Observer's reaction to the "innocent victim": Compassion or rejection?

Abstract

Under the guise of an experiment on the perception of emotional cues, 72 undergraduate female Ss observed a peer (victim) participating in a pairedassociate learning task. The victim, as a result of making the usual errors, appeared to receive severe and painful electric shocks (negative reinforcement). In describing the suffering victim after these observations, Ss rejected and devalued her when they believed that they would continue to see her suffer in a 2nd session, and when they were powerless to alter the victim's fate. Rejection and devaluation were strongest when the victim was viewed as suffering for the sake of Ss ("martyr" condition). These results offer support for the hypothesis that rejection and devaluation of a suffering victim are primarily based on the observer's need to believe in a just world.

Belief in a Just World and Commitment to Long-Term Deserved Outcomes

“…Positive manifestations may include: a desire to help others who seem to suffer through little fault of their own (e.g., Lerner and Simmons, 1966;Miller, 1977); psychological well-being (for reviews, see Dalbert, 2001;Furnham, 2003); and encouragement of investment in long-term goals such that those goals are deserved. On the other hand, when the belief in a just world is threatened and actual justice cannot be restored, those very people whom we admire-seemingly well-adjusted individuals committed to working toward the future and earning their rewards-may be the ones who most readily blame innocent victims for their fate or otherwise justify innocent suffering.…”

Experimental Research on Just-World Theory: Problems, Developments, and Future Challenges.

“…The majority of investigators (as in the early experiments) test their just-world hypotheses by either (a) presenting participants with a particular event and manipulating variables expected to increase or decrease the threat the event poses to the need to believe in a just world (e.g., by manipulating victim innocence, the moral character of a victim, whether or not an innocent victim continues to suffer); or (b) presenting participants with an event that should pose a threat to the need to believe in a just world and manipulating the cost or effectiveness of supposed strategies for maintaining a belief in a just world in the face of this threat (e.g., as when participants are or are not given an adequate opportunity to compensate an innocent victim, making this option a more or less viable strategy for preserving a belief in a just world). Some investigators use a combination of these manipulations (e.g., Lea & Hunsberger, 1990), as did Lerner and Simmons (1966) in their original research. In either case, participants' reactions to the victim should be affected by the manipulation, but for different reasons.…”

Perceived discrimination as worldview threat or worldview confirmation: Implications for self-esteem.

“…Research on the belief in a just world has shown that when people's belief in a just world is threatened by an innocent victim, they often react by blaming the victim or derogating his or her character if they cannot rectify the situation (see Hafer & Begue, 2005;Lerner & Miller, 1978;Lerner & Simmons, 1966). If the victim deserves his or her fate, no injustice has occurred and the worldview is preserved.…”