Abstract
Does unfair experience make people feel more entitled to behave selfishly? If so, can a sense of growth effectively weaken the effect of unfairness on selfishness? Drawing upon the Equity with the World (EwW) theory, three lab-based experiments (total N = 408) were conducted to answer these questions. We consistently found that people who had just been treated unfairly or reminded of a time when their lives were unfair felt entitled to behave selfishly. Consistent with a trans-relational effect, unfair victims behave selfishly toward the unfair doer as well as innocent individuals, and there was no significant difference in strength. Reconstructing a sense of growth could effectively buffer the “unfairness-to-selfishness” effect. The findings added a new perspective into interventions, and extended the EwW theory by demonstrating a strong reciprocative tendency from the fair-treated individuals.
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This research was supported by “the Fundamental Research Funds of Shandong University”
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Shi, R., Chen, Y., Qi, W. et al. When do unfair victims become more prosocial? Benefiting from growth beliefs. Curr Psychol 42, 14428–14439 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02635-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02635-1