A sense of powerlessness fosters system justification: Implications for the legitimation of authority, hierarchy, and government
In an attempt to explain the stability of hierarchy, we focus on the perspective of the powerless and how a subjective sense of dependence leads them to imbue the system and its authorities with legitimacy. In Study 1, we found in a nationally representative sample of U.S. employees that financial dependence on one's job was positively associated with the perceived legitimacy of one's supervisor. In Study 2, we observed that a general sense of powerlessness was positively correlated with the perceived legitimacy of the economic system. In Studies 3 and 4, priming experimental participants with feelings of powerlessness increased their justification of the social system, even when they were presented with system-challenging explanations for race, class, and gender disparities. In Study 5, we demonstrated that the experience of powerlessness increased legitimation of governmental authorities (relative to baseline conditions). The processes we identify are likely to perpetuate inequality insofar as the powerless justify rather than strive to change the hierarchical structures that disadvantage them.
Duke Scholars
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- Social Psychology
- 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
- 4408 Political science
- 1702 Cognitive Sciences
- 1701 Psychology
- 1606 Political Science
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Social Psychology
- 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
- 4408 Political science
- 1702 Cognitive Sciences
- 1701 Psychology
- 1606 Political Science