The DOI matches its Crossref record; 81 of the 81 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The psychology of system justification and the palliative function of ideology
Abstract
In this chapter, we trace the historical and intellectual origins of system justification theory, summarise the basic assumptions of the theory, and derive 18 specific hypotheses from a system justification perspective. We review and integrate empirical evidence addressing these hypotheses concerning the rationalisation of the status quo, the internalisation of inequality (outgroup favouritism and depressed entitlement), relations among ego, group, and system justification motives (including consequences for attitudinal ambivalence, self-esteem, and psychological well-being), and the reduction of ideological dissonance. Turning to the question of why people would engage in system justification--especially when it conflicts with other interests and motives--we propose that system-justifying ideologies serve a palliative function in that they reduce anxiety, guilt, dissonance, discomfort, and uncertainty for those who are advantaged and disadvantaged.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“System justification serves a palliative function in that it reduces anxiety, discomfort, and uncertainty (Jost & Hunyady, 2003).”
Citations
Cites
“Stress: appraisal and coping,”
Folkman, S. (2013) · Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_215 · Cited by 27,833
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Morvan, C., & O’Connor, A. (2017) · Macat Library eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781912282432 · Cited by 18,284
Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind.
Triandis, H. C., & Hofstede, G. (1993) · Administrative Science Quarterly · doi:10.2307/2393257 · Cited by 17,696
The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (2004) · Political Psychology · doi:10.4324/9780203505984-16 · Cited by 13,467
Selections from the prison notebooks
Gramsci, A. (2020) · The Applied Theatre Reader · doi:10.4324/9780429355363-27 · Cited by 9,750
Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: the implicit association test
Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. K. (1998) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1464 · Cited by 9,210
Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory.
Willer, D., Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1989) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2073157 · Cited by 7,207
Adorno, T. W., Frenkel-Bruνswik, E., Levinson, D. M., & Sandford, R. N. (2001) · SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781446220986.n8 · Cited by 6,460
Social dominance orientation: A personality variable predicting social and political attitudes.
Pratto, F., Sidanius, J., Stallworth, L. M., & Malle, B. (1994) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.67.4.741 · Cited by 4,872
French, J. R. P., & Raven, B. H. (1986) · University of Pittsburgh Press eBooks · doi:10.2307/jj.12381759.38 · Cited by 4,544
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 801–831 of 831
Sundby, J., Wagoner, J. A., & Morgan, J. (2026) · Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy · doi:10.1111/asap.70062
Comment penser les résistances de femmes au féminisme ?
Bonnot, V., Redersdorff, S., Girerd, L., & Verniers, C. (2026) · Presses universitaires de Rennes eBooks · doi:10.3917/pur.calvin.2026.01.0109
Subjective inequality in Chile. Representations of (un)fair social differences across time
Rojas, R. I. Y. (2019) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/65c93ea6z9888z4efezb44dz2b910c867d54
Dupoirier, S. (2022) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/fa4af5e2zed23z4220z917bzbfd2e857aab9
Schaefer, S., & Wickert, C. M. J. (2026) · British Journal of Management · doi:10.1111/1467-8551.70076
de Bruijn, Y., & Schwarzenthal, M. (2026) · Emerging Adulthood · doi:10.1177/21676968261459196 · Cited by 1
Economic System Justification, Religion, and Spirituality in Argentina: A Psychosociological Study
Velisone, J. E., Simkin, H., Donatello, L. M., & Jaume, L. (2026) · Social Sciences · doi:10.3390/socsci15070436
Fluit, S., Bierwiaczonek, K., Kunst, J. R., & von Soest, T. (2026) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.70178
Editorial: Current research on the palliative effect of ideology
Bahamondes, J., Goudarzi, S., Napier, J. L., & Suppes, A. (2026) · Frontiers in Social Psychology · doi:10.3389/frsps.2026.1907893
Manufacturing Pessimism: Structural Incentives and Social Psychology’s Narrative of Human Nature
Lönnqvist, J. (2026) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/17456916261458313
Hunt, A., Gibson, S., & Alexander, M. (2026) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.70161
Li, H., & Chen, L. (2026) · Brain and Behavior · doi:10.1002/brb3.71604
Kwon, H., & Erola, J. (2026) · Sociological Science · doi:10.15195/v13.a38
Benza, M., Szabó, Z. P., Leikas, S., & Lönnqvist, J. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1856578
Viladot, M. À., & Giles, H. (2026) · Frontiers in Language Sciences · doi:10.3389/flang.2026.1880735
Differences in Causal Attributions and Emotional Responses Across Income and Wealth Inequality
Bastias, F., & Zmerli, S. (2026) · Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology · doi:10.1177/18344909261475722
Howie, K. M., Vredenburg, J., & Mesler, R. M. (2026) · The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice · doi:10.1080/10696679.2026.2717180
Transition Pathways Scale (TPS): A new framework for assessing environmental attitudes
Matrot, J., Oliveira, P. D., & Auzoult-Chagnault, L. (2026) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.103191
Gutib, M., Ferolino, A. J. P., Cam, L. T. M., & Paz, E. S. D. (2026) · International Perspectives in Psychology · doi:10.1027/2157-3891/a000161
Akbaş, G., & Sakallı-Uğurlu, N. (2026) · International Journal of Social Psychology Revista de Psicología Social · doi:10.1177/02134748261483950
Kleinberg, M. S., & McCabe, K. T. (2026) · Politics Groups and Identities · doi:10.1080/21565503.2026.2735173
Pérez, E. O. (2026) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.70203
How system justification sustains sexual inequality: The case of the orgasm gap
Oschatz, T., Klein, V., Piemonte, J. L., Imhoff, R., & Conley, T. D. (2026) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.70141
Emotional responses to gender-based inequality: Justifications and consequences
Quasney, E. E. (2011) · e-Publications@Marquette (Marquette University)
Sometimes, it’s not Right to go Left: The perceived consequences of endorsing political ideologies
Wilson, K. (2014) · Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent)
Metadata
- Authors
- Jost, J., & Hunyady, O.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- University of Debrecen (HU)
- ORCID
- Jost, John
- Venue
- European Review of Social Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2003-01
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 111-153
- ISSN
- 1046-3283 (ISSN-L)
- 1479-277X
- OpenAlex
- W1969329871
- Cited by
- 833
- References
- 81
- Citations by year
- 2026: 33 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 45 · 2021: 53 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 39 · 2015: 53 · 2014: 49 · 2013: 50 · 2012: 34
- FWCI
- 56.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Review of Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
- Keywords
- system justification theory, ideology, attitudinal ambivalence, self-esteem, psychological well-being, anxiety reduction, guilt reduction, uncertainty reduction
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review