Abstract
Public opinion research indicates that most people espouse egalitarian ideals and acknowledge substantial income inequality in society, but they consistently perceive the economic system to be highly fair and legitimate. In an attempt to better understand this paradox by considering the cognitive and motivational bases of ideological support for the free market system, we draw on and integrate a number of social psychological theories suggesting that people want to believe that the systems and institutions that affect them are fair, legitimate, and justified. We have developed an instrument for measuring fair market ideology, and we have found in several samples that its endorsement is associated with self-deception, economic system justification, opposition to equality, power distance orientation, belief in a just world, political conservatism, right-wing authoritarianism, and scandal minimization. We also present evidence that people evince a system-justifying tendency to judge profitable companies to be more ethical than unprofitable companies. In addition, results from an experimental study we conducted in Hungary indicate that support for the free market system is strongest among people who score high in self-deception under conditions of system threat, suggesting the presence of a (non-rational) defensive motivation. Finally, we discuss several organizational and societal implications of the tendency to idealize market mechanisms and to view market-generated outcomes as inherently fair.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 53-91 |
| Number of pages | 39 |
| Journal | Research in Organizational Behavior |
| Volume | 25 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2003 |
Fingerprint
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Cite this
FAIR MARKET IDEOLOGY : ITS COGNITIVE-MOTIVATIONAL UNDERPINNINGS. / Jost, John; Blount, Sally; Pfeffer, Jeffrey; Hunyady, György.
In: Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 25, 2003, p. 53-91.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - FAIR MARKET IDEOLOGY
T2 - ITS COGNITIVE-MOTIVATIONAL UNDERPINNINGS
AU - Jost, John
AU - Blount, Sally
AU - Pfeffer, Jeffrey
AU - Hunyady, György
PY - 2003
Y1 - 2003
N2 - Public opinion research indicates that most people espouse egalitarian ideals and acknowledge substantial income inequality in society, but they consistently perceive the economic system to be highly fair and legitimate. In an attempt to better understand this paradox by considering the cognitive and motivational bases of ideological support for the free market system, we draw on and integrate a number of social psychological theories suggesting that people want to believe that the systems and institutions that affect them are fair, legitimate, and justified. We have developed an instrument for measuring fair market ideology, and we have found in several samples that its endorsement is associated with self-deception, economic system justification, opposition to equality, power distance orientation, belief in a just world, political conservatism, right-wing authoritarianism, and scandal minimization. We also present evidence that people evince a system-justifying tendency to judge profitable companies to be more ethical than unprofitable companies. In addition, results from an experimental study we conducted in Hungary indicate that support for the free market system is strongest among people who score high in self-deception under conditions of system threat, suggesting the presence of a (non-rational) defensive motivation. Finally, we discuss several organizational and societal implications of the tendency to idealize market mechanisms and to view market-generated outcomes as inherently fair.
AB - Public opinion research indicates that most people espouse egalitarian ideals and acknowledge substantial income inequality in society, but they consistently perceive the economic system to be highly fair and legitimate. In an attempt to better understand this paradox by considering the cognitive and motivational bases of ideological support for the free market system, we draw on and integrate a number of social psychological theories suggesting that people want to believe that the systems and institutions that affect them are fair, legitimate, and justified. We have developed an instrument for measuring fair market ideology, and we have found in several samples that its endorsement is associated with self-deception, economic system justification, opposition to equality, power distance orientation, belief in a just world, political conservatism, right-wing authoritarianism, and scandal minimization. We also present evidence that people evince a system-justifying tendency to judge profitable companies to be more ethical than unprofitable companies. In addition, results from an experimental study we conducted in Hungary indicate that support for the free market system is strongest among people who score high in self-deception under conditions of system threat, suggesting the presence of a (non-rational) defensive motivation. Finally, we discuss several organizational and societal implications of the tendency to idealize market mechanisms and to view market-generated outcomes as inherently fair.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=21144444620&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=21144444620&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0191-3085(03)25002-4
DO - 10.1016/S0191-3085(03)25002-4
M3 - Article
VL - 25
SP - 53
EP - 91
JO - Research in Organizational Behavior
JF - Research in Organizational Behavior
SN - 0191-3085
ER -