Power_ Why Some People Have Itand Others Don't - Jeffrey Pfeffer [4]
The pervasiveness of the belief in a just world, called in social psychology the “just-world hypothesis,” was first described by Melvin Lerner decades ago.10 Lerner argued that people wanted to think that the world was predictable and comprehensible and, therefore, potentially controllable. Or, as another psychologist described it, from early childhood “we learn to be ‘good and in control’ people.”11 How else could we navigate a world that is random and can’t be controlled without feeling thwarted and frustrated much of the time? The desire for control and predictability results in a tendency to see the world as a just place because a just world is one that is also understandable and predictable. Behave by the rules and you will be all right; fail to follow the rules and bad things will happen.
The just-world hypothesis holds that most people believe that “people get what they deserve; that is, that the good people are likely to be rewarded and the bad to be punished. Most important, the phenomenon works in reverse: if someone is seen to prosper, there is a social psychological tendency for observers to decide that the lucky person must have done something to deserve his good fortune. He or she becomes a better person…simply by virtue of the observed rewards.”12 Conversely, if something bad happens to someone, “the belief in a just world causes the conclusion that the victim must have been a bad person.”13 This latter effect creates the frequently observed phenomenon of “blaming the victim,” in which people find things that justify the bad events that happen to targets of crimes or corporate misfortunes. And the opposite is also true: success, however achieved, will promote efforts to find the many positive virtues in those who are successful—thereby justifying their success.
There are literally scores of experiments and field studies that show the just-world effect. Many of the original studies examined the opinions held by participants of people who were randomly chosen by the experimenter to receive an electric shock or some other form of punishment. The research showed that others were more likely to reject the (randomly) punished people and to see them as lacking in social worth—even though the observers knew those punished had received their bad outcomes purely by chance! Moreover, victims of random bad luck got stigmatized: “Children who receive subsidized school lunches are thought to be less able students than those not in the lunch program; ugly college students are believed less capable of piloting a private plane than pretty ones; welfare recipients are often treated as if they are untrustworthy or incapable of managing any aspect of their lives.”14
As soon as you recognize the just-world effect and its influence on your perceptions and try to combat the tendency to see the world as inherently fair, you will be able to learn more in every situation and be more vigilant and proactive to ensure your own success.
BEWARE OF THE LEADERSHIP LITERATURE
The next obstacle you will need to overcome is the leadership literature. Most books by well-known executives and most lectures and courses about leadership should be stamped CAUTION: THIS MATERIAL CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL