System Justification Theory

Ego and group justification state that individuals tend to view themselves and those in their in-group in a positive manner. Individuals also tend to view the system as fair, legitimate, and their actions justifiable. System Justification theory states that those who benefit the least from social arrangements are more likely to resist social change and defend the status quo. Further, those who suffer the most psychologically from a given set of circumstances will attempt to reduce dissonance through rationalization in order to make sense of their social reality. Ideological and cognitive mechanisms allow the individual to rationalize their external environment and this can have a “palliative function” of reducing dissonance. Ideological mechanisms can be meritocratic ideology, conservative ideology, opposition to equality in society, the protestant work ethic, and the Belief in a Just World 2. Cognitive mechanisms include a preference for order, structure and routine, the perception of the world as being an unsafe place, fear of death, and perceived threat to the existing social order (Jost et al.,

A person will be psychologically motivated to reduce this dissonance in order to alleviate any distress. If an individual cannot externally justify a belief they will seek to internally justify it by changing their attitude or behavior. If an individual believes that the system is fair and just they are likely to adopt ideological mechanisms such as a conservative ideology or meritocratic ideology to reduce dissonance. Constant threats of violence that people see in the media or hear from political leaders can reinforce the idea that the world is an unsafe place and the threat of death is always near (Jost & Hunyady, 2005; Aronson,