IS BELIEF IN A JUST WORLD RATIONAL

To estimate the relationship between the belief in a just world and ir rational thinking, 62 undergraduates completed the Jones Irrational Be liefs Test and the Multidimensional Belief in a Just World Scale. It w as hypothesized that belief in a just world precluded rational thinkin g. No significant correlations were found between scores on irrational beliefs and beliefs in a just world; however, post hoc tests indicate d a significant relationship between age and scores on irrational beli ef in women, indicating that perhaps the older women were less prone t o irrational beliefs.