Just World Theory Of Victim Bullying

724 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on the Nature of Victimization

Victim Blaming Victim blaming occurs when an individual has suffered from a crime, accident or trauma and is subsequently blamed for their suffering. Blame is placed on the victim regardless of any control they had over the situation. This is typically done to alleviate cognitive dissonance or to reassure oneself that the world they live in is safe. Individuals who bully others or cause others harm often experience cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort that is experienced when our beliefs conflict with our actions/attitudes (Aronson, Wilson, Akert, & Sommers, 2016). Cognitive dissonance is also experienced by individuals who believe in a just world theory. Just world theory is the belief that people get what they deserve, good or bad (Aronson, et al., 2016). When an individual holds a just world theory, but then sees someone who they otherwise view as innocent come to harm, cognitive dissonance occurs. To alleviate cognitive dissonance blame needs to be assigned to the victim to explain the harm they have experienced (Hayes, Lorenz, & Bell, 2013). It is important to understand why people blame victims to reduce bullying, domestic violence and sexual assaults. This is …show more content…

Students who had bullied other have the highest levels of moral disengagement and were more likely to justify the bullying due to perceived difference between themselves and their victims (Garland, et al., 2017). According to Aronson, et al. (2016) when we harm another person, such as through bullying, cognitive processes begin to justify our actions. To justify our actions, we need to differentiate between our actions and our belief of ourselves. To do this we need to find fault in other person we have harmed, by reducing their virtues and emphasizing their faults (Aronson, et al.,

Show More
Related

  • The Idaho Anti-Bullying Program

    1629 Words  | 4 Pages

    Clearly, this is a lifelong repercussion. There are a number of factors that impact levels of bullying in schools across America. It only focuses on the negative side of the problem. “Empathy clearly plays a tremendous role in an effective anti-bullying program” (Jones and Augustine, 2015).

    Read More

  • Addressing Sexual Assault on College Campuses

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    “College life is an important social domain that provides lifelong experiences and memories for millions of students each year. As these results show, part of this experience involves college women experiencing forcible rape and/or alcohol-or-drug-induced rape” (Fisher, Daigle, & Cullen, 2010, p. 83).

    Read More

  • Bullying: A Major Social Problem in the United States

    1525 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bullying has become a major problem facing the United States today. The American Psychological Association reports that roughly 40% to 80% of children are involved in bullying on some level during their time in school. (APA, 2014) The magnitude of the problem can be observed in the statistics. In the United States, a total of 4,080,879 children between the ages of five and 18 have been the victims of bullying compared to 3,892,199 who have reported that they have engaged in bullying someone else. Additionally, 851,755 said that they have been both the victim and the bully. That's a whopping 8,824,833 people in the United States that have been involved in bullying behavior on one level or another. (High, B., 2000 Census)

    Read More

  • Rape Culture Essay

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the SACHA Sexual Assault Center, rape culture involves everyday phenomena that “make violence against women and sexual coercion seem so normal that people believe that rape is inevitable” (“What is rape culture,” n.d.). Common examples of rape culture include: telling women to always travel in groups at night, asking survivors what they were wearing or if they were drinking during the time of the assault, and ignoring or stigmatizing males who are sexually assaulted (Ray, 2013). On college campuses, rape culture can contribute to the underreporting of sexual assaults, as survivors may be ashamed or afraid of humiliation. Furthermore, the presence of rape myths perpetuates the overall rape culture by shaping public opinion towards blaming survivors and discounting the actions of offenders. Largely cited myths, such as women falsely reporting rape to protect their reputations or because they are angry with the accused perpetrator, are based on a kernel of truth that is unrepresentative of the realities surrounding these issues (Burnett et al., 2009). Rape culture is alive and well on college campuses, despite being a broader societal issue. While this socially ingrained behavior is difficult to reverse, universities are major institutions that must accept partial responsibility for the perpetuation of rape culture and consequently need to devise programs for change that circumvent this erroneous

    Read More

  • Modern-day Witch Hunts

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    …many people now acquire "victimhood" through counseling. Being a "victim" draws sympathy. It explains the tragedies, the failures, the hardships, the health problems and the disappointments of life. It relieves people of some of life's natural burdens: dealing with complexity, facing things beyond their control, and accepting responsibility for decisions and actions.

    Read More

  • Bullying and Mass School Shootings

    3834 Words  | 8 Pages

    School shootings and suicides result from continuous bullying. As a result, after time some side effects of...

    Read More

  • Negative Effects Of Rape Culture

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    Essentially, victim blaming is the blaming of victims for the crimes committed toward them and it is a malicious act which aids in the perpetuation of rape culture. Victim blaming, according to The Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime, has numerous negative effects for victims and for others. Victim blaming causes victims to become withdrawn and not want to report future crimes because they are fearful that they will be victimized further (George). These victims also are more stressed and worried than before their attacks. According to table 1 (Lila): depressive symptomatology (symptoms of depression), stressful life events, the lack of intimate social and formal support, and low self-esteem all contribute to an increase in self (victim)

    Read More

  • Crime And Media Analysis

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the victim does not fit the ideal victim attributes which society has familiarised themselves with, it can cause complications and confusion. Experts have noticed there is already a significant presence of victim blaming, especially for cases involving both genders. The fear of being blamed and rejected by the public is prominent in all victims. Victim blaming proclaims the victim also played a role in the crime by allowing the crime to occur through their actions (Kilmartin and Allison, 2017, p.21). Agarin (2014, p.173) underlines the problem of victim blaming is due to the mass of social problems and misconceptions within society. The offender can have “an edge in court of public opinion” if victim blaming exists, resulting in the prevention of the case accomplishing an effective deduction in court (Humphries, 2009, p.27). Thus, victims will become more reluctant to report offences because of their decrease in trust in the police and criminal justice system, leading to the dark figure of

    Read More

  • Rape Myth Acceptance: The Blame On Women

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally

    Read More

  • Victim Blaming Deborah

    1839 Words  | 4 Pages

    Victim Blaming Many women are always blamed for their victimization, if a woman is in a domestic violent relationship and she is getting battered she is blamed for not leaving.

    Read More

  • Rape and Sexual Violence

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rape and sexual violence is a very serious problem that affects millions of people each year. Rape is someone taking advantage of another person sexually. Sexual assault can be verbal, physical, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. ("Sexual Assault.") Rape is one of the most underreported crimes. In 2002, only thirty-nine percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law officials. ("Sexual Violence: Fact Sheet.") Victims sometimes do not report that they have raped because of shame or feeling that it was their fault. It is never the victim's fault. "Victim blaming" is holding the victim of a crime to be in a whole or in partly responsible for what had happened to them. Most victims believe this. ("Myths and Facts about Sexual Violence.")

    Read More

  • Why Bullying Can’t Be Stopped?

    2036 Words  | 5 Pages

    In a CNN study by Chuck Hadad he states “That bullying is pervasive even though the schools have anti-bullying programs from kindergarten through 12th grade, assemblies throughout the year, and a peer-to-peer program where older students talk to younger students about the dangers of bullying” (Hadad). Robert Faris, a sociologist found that bullies and victims are generally the same person. Whe...

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Victim Blaming

    2128 Words  | 5 Pages

    A writer from Southernct stated a fact that “ men, women, and children of all ages, races, religions, and economic classes have been victims of sexual assault. Sexual assault occurs in rural areas, small towns, and larger cities” ( “Southernct” 1). We have all seen on the news a case where a female has been raped and somehow the world makes us believe that it was her own fault that it happened. This is due to victim blaming. Victim blaming occurs when the victim of some sort of crime or wrongdoing is held partially or fully responsible for what happened to them. It is not always easy to identify though. Some people would be considered to be victim blaming over every day situations in life. For example, someone making the

    Read More

  • Victim Blaming Essay

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    Victim blaming refers to the victim being held responsible for the acts committed against them. Much of victim blaming stems from the traditional ideologies of gender, where women are perceived as inferior to men. These underlying views contribute to sexual assault cases involving female victims and male perpetrators, where the fault lies with the victim. The recent case involving a Stanford student, Brock Turner, who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman, Emily Doe, brought about much public controversy. Though Brock had clear motives for his actions and there was physical proof that he was at fault, allegations against the victim were constantly made. In the trial statement the victim writes, “I was told he hired a powerful attorney, expert witnesses, private investigators who were going to try and find details about my personal

    Read More

  • Child Bullying Essay

    1151 Words  | 3 Pages

    Victims of bullying will eventually show the effects of bullying by being passive or secluding themselves from other individuals. The background or culture of a victim will most likely determine how they progress or react in a bullying experience. A victim may retaliate to the bully's attacks depending on the level of aggressiveness used. Parenting affects the decisions made by both victims and bullies in the peer interactions. Intervention approaches to this social vice will include changing the victims’ opinions about themselves through encouragement and teaching them how to effectively respond to attackers...

    Read More

More about Just World Theory Of Victim Bullying

Open Document