Belief in a Just World - Attitudes Towards Refugees and the Influence of Gender in Australia

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Procedure

Participants completed GBJWS and IIS measurements online through Moodle in week one of PSY2042 unit in the summer semester 2015. No deception was involved as participants had knowledge of the purpose of the study; social desirability bias was not controlled. Data was then collated and analysed using SPSS version 22. An r to Z transformation formula was used to produce a Zobs for the influence of gender.

Results

The data was analysed using SPSS version 22. Table I shows the descriptive statistics for participants. Table II demonstrates that a Pearson correlation found a small positive significant relationship; higher BJW scores positively correlate with higher prejudiced ATR scores. An r to Z score transformation formula calculated a Zobs of 1.028 using male and female r, N and Z values, r = .077, N = 70, Z = .075 and r = .214, N = 229, Z = .218 respectively. This indicates that no significant influence of gender on the correlation between BJW and ATR was found.

Table I.

Descriptive Statistics for participants

N

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

Std. Deviation

Participant ID

299

1

300

150.76

86.77

Age

299

18

59

21.54

4.92

Belief Just World Scale

299

7

31

20.71

5.03

Illegal Immigrant Scale

299

24

100

50.43

12.50

Valid N

229

Table II.

Inferential Statistics for BJW and ATR measures

Belief Just World Scale

Illegal Immigrant Scale

Belief Just World Scale

Pearson Correlation

1

.179

Sig. (1-tailed)

.000

N

299

299

Illegal Immigrant Scale

Pearson Correlation

.179

1

Sig. (1-tailed)

.000

N

299

299

Discussion

The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between BJW and ATR with gender comparison in an Australian sample of undergraduate students. It was hypothesised that BJW scores would be positively correlated with ATR scores which was supported by the data. The small positive correlation indicates a significant prevalence of negative ATR. This is consistent with previous Australian research demonstrating negative attitudes towards immigrants (Schweitzer, 2005). An influence of gender on the correlation between BJW and negative ATR was hypothesised, however, this was not supported. A Zobs revealed no significant influence of gender on the correlation between BJW and ATR. This is not comparative to previous research, which has consistently found that males have significantly more negative ATR (Tay et al., 2013). A possible explanation for this is the unrepresentative sample which contained more females, therefore decreasing external validity.

The findings of the correlation between BJW and ATR are unique due to the large number of females in the sample. Previous research has continually demonstrated that uneducated, authoritarian males consistently report strong BJW and negative ATR (Sears & Henry, 2003; Schweitzer, 2005). Specifically, the results support temporal data from cross-cultural research, highlighting the correlation between strong BJW and negative ATR whilst contributing to an explanation of victim blaming and derogation (Curry, 2000). Importantly, the findings support understanding of continuous prejudicial ATR mediated by BJW as a functional coping mechanism (Callan & Ellard, 2010). Generalisability of results, however, is inhibited due to participants being undergraduate psychology students. Previous research indicates the potential for both higher BJW and ATR scores; white, uneducated males report strong BJW and negative ATR (Furnham, 2003, Schweitzer, 2005). Despite using empirically sound measures, social desirability bias, the tendency for people to present a favourable image of themselves on questionnaires, is a potential extraneous variable which was not controlled (Schweitzer, 2005). Therefore, the Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scale could be used in future research as a control measure (Schweitzer, 2005).

In conclusion, a small positive correlation was found between BJW and ATR, however, there was no gender influence on this correlation. Research has suggested that believing in a personally just world can support victims to cope with critical life events (Otto et al., 2006); future research should consider investigating the role that BJW plays in impacting refugees’ lives. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies would provide valuable insight into differing attitudes between different age groups and contextual generations. Considering