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Ong HH, Nelissen RMA, van Beest I. Why and when suffering increases the perceived likelihood of fortuitous rewards. Br J Soc Psychol. 2020;60(2):548-569doi: 10.1111/bjso.12406.
Ong, H. H., Nelissen, R. M. A., & van Beest, I. (2021). Why and when suffering increases the perceived likelihood of fortuitous rewards. The British journal of social psychology, 60(2), 548-569. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12406
Ong, How Hwee, et al. "Why and when suffering increases the perceived likelihood of fortuitous rewards." The British journal of social psychology vol. 60,2 (2021): 548-569. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12406
Ong HH, Nelissen RMA, van Beest I. Why and when suffering increases the perceived likelihood of fortuitous rewards. Br J Soc Psychol. 2021 Apr;60(2):548-569. doi: 10.1111/bjso.12406. Epub 2020 Jul 11. PMID: 32652578; PMCID: PMC8048465.
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Br J Soc Psychol. 2021 Apr;60(2):548-569. doi: 10.1111/bjso.12406. Epub 2020 Jul 11.

Why and when suffering increases the perceived likelihood of fortuitous rewards.

The British journal of social psychology

How Hwee Ong, Rob M A Nelissen, Ilja van Beest

Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Psychology, Tilburg University, The Netherlands.

PMID: 32652578 PMCID: PMC8048465 DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12406

Abstract

Cultural practices and anecdotal accounts suggest that people expect suffering to lead to fortuitous rewards. To shed light on this illusory 'suffering-reward' association, we tested why and when this effect manifests. Across three vignette studies in which we manipulated the degree of suffering experienced by the protagonist, we tested a 'just-world maintenance' explanation (suffering deserves to be compensated) and a 'virtuous suffering' explanation (suffering indicates virtues, which will be rewarded). Our findings revealed that the illusory 'suffering-reward' association (1) could serve as a way for people to cope with just-world threats posed by the suffering of innocent victims, and (2) manifested when the suffering was not caused by the victim's own behaviour and not readily attributable to bad luck. Taken together, these findings not only provide evidence for the existence of the illusory 'suffering-reward' association but also elucidate its psychological underpinnings.

© 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.

Keywords: fairness; justice; magical thinking; suffering

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