Belief In Status Quo Helps Some Shirk Social Responsibility

Life's not fair.

For some kids, the old parental adage only becomes truer with time as they become aware of worldwide inequities in areas such as hunger, education, gender, healthcare. Others, it seems, have an easier time accepting the status quo as fair or deserved. In turn, the latter group maintains a better overall mood and is less likely to feel the discontent that leads others to take actions that benefit the disadvantaged, say NYU social psychologists.

They explain this reaction via system justification theory, the tendency to support and legitimize the existing status quo, at times even contrary to self-interest. The theory further accounts for a variety of social beliefs and phenomena such as stereotypes about the rich and poor and backlash against groups that challenge existing social structures.

According to head researcher, social psychology professor John T. Jost, the belief that social inequalities are fair or justified affects not just sociopolitics but also the everyday lives of individuals.

"It has practical consequences for whether people are willing to sacrifice time or money to causes such as an after-school tutoring program for disadvantaged children, a soup kitchen, a job-training program, a crisis hotline, an adopt-a-grandparent program and a big brother/sister program," he said.

Read more: Study looks at status quo