Psychological Development and Education ›› 2014, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (5): 496-503.

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How the Belief in a Just World Influence College Student’s Intention to Help People in Need：The Role of Attribution of Responsibility and the Cost of Helping

JI Wang-hua1,2, ZHANG Lan-ge1, KOU Yu1   

  1. 1. Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875;
    2. Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450046
  • Online:2014-09-15 Published:2014-09-15

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Abstract: We conducted two studies to examine the effect of the attribution of responsibility and the cost of helping on the relationship between belief in a just world (BJW) and intention to help people in need, using BJW scale and hypothetical scenarios about helping. Study 1 (n =198) found that both BJW and the attribution of responsibility positively predicted the intention to help people in need. After controlling for grade, gender and social desirability, the attribution of responsibility and BJW accounted for 5.7% and 6% of the variance of intention to help, respectively. In Study 2 (n =415), we manipulated the attribution of responsibility and the cost of helping. We found that the effect of BJW on intention to help was moderated by attribution of responsibility and cost of helping, such that only when the cost of helping was low and people in need was not responsible for his plight, BJW positively predicted intention to help. Implications for promoting prosocial behavior are discussed.

Key words: belief in a just world, intention to help people in need, attribution of responsibility, the cost of helping

CLC Number: 

  • B844.3
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