The Relationship between Belief in a Just World and Victim Reporting, Self-Blame, and Perpetrator Blame

Abstract

This study examined belief in a just world (BJW), attributional style, perceptions of police, and approach/avoidance motivation in victims’ likelihood of reporting their victimization to police, blaming themselves, and blaming the perpetrator in hypothetical scenarios. Participants completed measures of the Attributional Style Questionnaire, perceptions of police, and Behavioral Activation/Inhibition Systems. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two Stroop task conditions to manipulate BJW. The BJW Scale was given after the Stroop task as a manipulation check. Finally, participants read four victim scenarios and reported their reactions including likelihood of reporting to police, self-blame, and perpetrator-blame. The BJW manipulation was unsuccessful and did not predict any scenario reactions. However, the BJW Scale, internal and global attribution styles, having positive perceptions of police, and approach motivation were positively correlated with a greater likelihood of police reporting. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.