Challenges to the construct validity of belief in a just world scales

Presents a critical analysis of the construct validity of belief in a just world (BJW) questionnaires as a measure of the justice motive according to M. Lerner. Based on theoretical, conceptual, methodological, and empirical analyses, the author argues that (1) BJW is an indirect indicator of the justice motive, (2) BJW contains knowledge and justification components in addition to justice motive components, (3) the discriminant validity of BJW scales has not been demonstrated adequately, (4) the psychological meaning of belief in an unjust world and of low BJW is unclear, (5) implicit justice criteria contained in BJW have to be differentiated, (6) implicit time perspectives in BJW have to be separated, (7) little is known about the consequences of observing or experiencing injustice, and (8) ambiguous validation criteria such as well-being and political conservatism have been used in several studies. In conclusion, possible resolutions for some of these issues are suggested.