Carolyn Hafer
Carolyn Hafer is the first author, with Laurent Bègue, of the 2005 Psychological Bulletin review of experimental research on just-world theory, which covered the work published since 1980 and discussed how unsystematic the research had been.
Who they are
This page is thin by design. The material consulted for this publication is the abstract and bibliographic record of the 2005 review, which establish authorship and the review's scope.
The review builds on Melvin Lerner's proposal that people need to believe the world is fair, so that evidence of injustice is threatening and people use various strategies to cope with that threat.
Key papers
Hafer, C. L., & Bègue, L. (2005). Experimental research on just-world theory: Problems, developments, and future challenges. Psychological Bulletin, 131(1), 128-167. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.1.128.
Key ideas
According to its abstract, the review describes two conceptualisations of the belief in a just world, the common experimental paradigms and an overview of studies since 1980, then discusses problems in the literature, especially how unsystematic the research has been, describes important developments despite those problems, and identifies theoretical challenges for future work. See Belief in a Just World and Victim Derogation.
Sources
- Hafer, C. L., & Bègue, L. (2005), doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.1.128, from the abstract and bibliographic record.