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A Theory of System Justification
Abstract
Psychologist John Jost has spent decades researching poor people who vote for policies of inequality and women who think men deserve higher salaries. He argues that the persecuted often justify and defend the very social systems that oppress them because doing so serves a fundamental need for certainty, security, and social acceptance.
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In the citing paper
“One characteristic that can contribute to such behaviors is system justification.”
From How to study democratic backsliding (2024) · cites this paper as Jost, 2020
In the citing paper
“Those with high social-justification tendencies often rationalize an undemocratic erosion of the extant system.”
From How to study democratic backsliding (2024) · cites this paper as Jost, 2020
In the citing paper
“People defend the status quo even if it is unjust and exploitative due to a need for certainty, security, and social acceptance.”
From How to study democratic backsliding (2024) · cites this paper as Jost, 2020
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Political polarization on COVID-19 pandemic response in the United States
Kerr, J. R., Panagopoulos, C., & van der Linden, S. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.110892 · Cited by 398
Systemic racism: individuals and interactions, institutions and society
Banaji, M. R., Fiske, S. T., & Massey, D. S. (2021) · Cognitive Research Principles and Implications · doi:10.1186/s41235-021-00349-3 · Cited by 398
Cognitive–motivational mechanisms of political polarization in social-communicative contexts
Jost, J. T., Baldassarri, D. S., & Druckman, J. N. (2022) · Nature Reviews Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44159-022-00093-5 · Cited by 276
Self-citationAddressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries
Vlasceanu, M., Doell, K. C., Bak-Coleman, J. B., Todorova, B., Berkebile-Weinberg, M., Grayson, S., Patel, Y. H., Goldwert, D., Pei, Y., Chakroff, A., et al. (2024) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.adj5778 · Cited by 380
Azevedo, F., & Jost, J. T. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430221990104 · Cited by 113
Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- JOST, J. T.
- Corresponding author
- JOST, JOHN T.
- ORCID
- JOST, JOHN T.
- Venue
- Harvard University Press eBooks
- Publisher
- Harvard University Press
- Published
- 2020-07-14
- OpenAlex
- W3038554755
- Cited by
- 308
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 32 · 2025: 71 · 2024: 62 · 2023: 57 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 5
- FWCI
- 40.05
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Harvard University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Keywords
- system justification theory, social inequality, oppression, certainty, social acceptance, political attitudes, gender pay gap
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