Not General Belief in a Just World But Injustice Perception of Concrete Situations Is Associated With Embitterment

Abstract: Several aspects contribute to whether a person reacts embittered after an injustice or not: the individual basic beliefs (respective life values) of the person, the degree of belief in a just world, the perception of the injustice situation itself, and coping capacities in the form of wisdom. The present study explores to which degree these core aspects contribute to embitterment reaction after a confrontation with injustice. An experimental investigation was conducted in a convenience sample of 228 young persons from the general population (age 28, 68% females). Participants gave sociodemographics, and their wisdom attitudes, life values, and belief in a just world. Then an example of an injustice situation was presented in the form of a short text vignette, followed by a short assessment of the person’s embitterment reaction. The more the participants perceived the situation as unjust, the higher their embitterment reaction. Higher self-enhancement value was associated with higher embitterment after exposure to the injustice situation. In contrast, general belief in a just world, wisdom attitudes, and other life values were not associated with the strength of embitterment reaction. Also, the type of problem (private or work injustice) and sociodemographic characteristics of the participants were not predictive of the embitterment. Not the general belief in a just world, but the interpretation of a concrete situation as unjust is associated with an emotional reaction (here: embitterment) and potentially following behavior. Concluding from comparison with other research, the type of situation and life values of persons may have different and not linear impacts on embitterment reaction.