The fear of injustice

Köhler, Lucas John Emmanuel (2024): The fear of injustice: how victim sensitivity affects political attitudes and behaviour. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences

Abstract

Victim sensitivity – the dispositional sensitivity to self-related injustice – has been associated with a preference for right-wing political actors, anti-immigration attitudes, and a tendency to refrain from pro-environmental behaviour. This dissertation draws on theoretical assumptions and prior research to examine the psychological processes that explain the association of victim sensitivity with political attitudes and behaviour. Three manuscripts, including eight empirical studies, provide insights into the link between the sensitivity to perceiving oneself as a victim of moral transgressions and a right-wing political orientation, and into the motivational and social-cognitive processes that explain the antisocial tendencies of victim-sensitive individuals in the contexts of immigration and climate action. I discuss theoretical and practical insights, methodological limitations as well as avenues for future research.

• Item Type: Theses (Dissertation, LMU Munich)
• Keywords: Victim sensitivity, justice sensitivity, political orientation, anti-immigration attitudes, climate action
• Subjects: 100 Philosophy and Psychology; 100 Philosophy and Psychology > 150 Psychology
• Faculties: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
• Language: English
• Date of oral examination: 22. February 2024
• 1. Referee: Gollwitzer, Mario
• Signature of the printed copy: 0001/UMC 31038