Hidden Brain

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

When bad things happen to good people, we tend to assume that victims must have done something to deserve their fate. This belief in a just world—the idea that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get—can be deeply comforting. But it comes at a cost: it leads us to blame the innocent and ignore the role of chance in human life.

Hidden Brain

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

We tend to assume that bad things happen to bad people, and good things happen to good people. When we encounter someone who has suffered a terrible fate through no fault of their own, it can shatter this comfortable illusion — and rather than update our beliefs, we often unconsciously blame the victim instead.

Hidden Brain

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Most of us believe that bad things happen to bad people, and good things happen to good people. We call this the 'just world hypothesis.' The problem is that it's not true — and our commitment to this belief can lead us to blame victims of misfortune, rather than help them.

Hidden Brain

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Most of us believe that we would recognize injustice when we see it, and that we would speak up or take action. But research by social psychologist Melvin Lerner suggests we often do something quite different — we blame the victim. Lerner found that when people observed an innocent person suffering, they didn't always feel empathy. Instead, they often convinced themselves that the victim must have done something to deserve their fate.