Enhanced system justification among the disadvantaged Based on cognitive dissonance theory that holds people have a need to reduce dissonance and maintain cognitive consistency, system justification theory explains that people are motivated to rationalize and justify instances of inequality in order to preserve and defend the legitimacy of the system. Because people have this need to believe the current prevailing system is legitimate and the way it is for a reason, when presented with instances where this might threaten that, people will respond with more justifications to maintain the legitimacy of the system or status quo. Since high status group members regularly benefit from the prevailing system, they are expected to rarely be presented with examples that would threaten the legitimacy of the system. In contrast, it is expected that low status group members who do not benefit from the system, would be presented more regularly with threats to the legitimacy of the system and status quo. Thus, it is expected for system justification tendencies to increase in societies with more substantial group inequalities, and low status group members will be more inclined than high status group members to provide more intense justifications to rationalize and uphold the prevailing systems and status quo.
Enhanced system justification among the disadvantaged Based on cognitive dissonance theory that holds people have a need to reduce dissonance and maintain cognitive consistency, system justification theory explains that people are motivated to rationalize and justify instances of inequality in order to preserve and defend the legitimacy of the system. Because people have this need to believe the current prevailing system is legitimate and the way it is for a reason, when presented with instances where this might threaten that, people sometimes respond with more justifications to maintain the legitimacy of the system or status quo.
R
will
sometimes
D
status quo. Since high status group members regularly benefit from the prevailing system, they are expected to rarely be presented with examples that would threaten the legitimacy of the system. In contrast, it is expected that low status group members who do not benefit from the system, would be presented more regularly with threats to the legitimacy of the system and status quo. Thus, it is expected for system justification tendencies to increase in societies with more substantial group inequalities, and low status group members will be more inclined than high status group members to provide more intense justifications to rationalize and uphold the prevailing systems and