When justice surrenders: The effect of just-world beliefs on aggression following ostracism

• General just-world beliefs (GJWB) influence aggression after ostracism. • Ostracized people with weak GJWB behave more aggressively. • Perceived deservingness mediates the effect of GJWB onaggression after ostracism. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o The present research examined the influence of general just-world beliefs on aggression following ostracism. The findings provided converging support for the hypothesis that people with weak general just-world beliefs, either measured (Studies 1 and 4) or primed (Studies 2 and 3), would behave more aggressively following ostracism than people with strong general just-world beliefs. Furthermore, perceived deservingness (Study 3) or attribu-tion (Study 4) mediated the relationship between general just-world beliefs and aggression following ostracism. These findings highlight the significance of general just-world beliefs in understanding the coping responses to negative interpersonal experiences. The implications are discussed. Introduction People have a fundamental need to maintain positive and sustainable social relationships (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Ostracism 1 , which refers to being excluded and rejected, thwarts such a fundamental need for belonging (see Williams, 2007, 2009 for reviews). The literature has uncovered various detrimental consequences of ostracism. In particular, ostracism-related forms of relational devaluations can lead to started to examine how motivational and situational factors interact with ostracism to predict aggression However, few studies have examined how beliefs, which are central to the way in which people package their experiences (Dweck, 2008), moderate the effect of ostracism on aggression. Given that beliefs are closely linked to behaviors (e.g., Ajzen, 1991; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975), it is reasonable to expect that one's beliefs may help us understand when and why ostracism increases aggressive behavior. In particular, we focused on general just-world beliefs, which are the beliefs that we live in a just world where people deserve what they get and get what they deserve We examined whether general just-world beliefs would moderate the effect of ostracism on aggressive behavior. Strong general just-world beliefs not only help people cope with stressful situations (Tomaka & Blascovich, 1994), but also inhibit antisocial urges in situations that involve conflicts (Nesbit, Blankenship, & Murray, 2012). Therefore, we predicted that strong general just-world beliefs would weaken the effect of ostracism on aggression. Furthermore , we explored a mechanism for the relationship between just-world beliefs and aggression following ostracism. People with strong just-world beliefs, but not people with weak just-world beliefs, tend …