Just-world hypothesis
Also known as Just-world fallacy
The just-world hypothesis is the belief that the world is fair, so people generally get what they deserve. It leads us to blame victims for their misfortune and to assume successful people earned everything they have.
In everyday life
Hearing that someone was robbed on the way home, a listener's first thought is that the victim must have been careless.
When a neighbor loses her job in a large round of layoffs, you quietly assume she must have been a weak performer, since good workers don't get let go.
Why your mind does this
We rarely have full information about a person or situation, so the brain fills gaps with what usually holds true for similar cases. Relying on categories, rules of thumb and trusted sources saves a huge amount of time and effort. For most of history, following the group and trusting experienced elders was a safe bet.
Its family, in 30 seconds: Stereotypes
How to spot it
Notice when your first reaction to someone's bad luck is to look for what they did wrong.
How to counter it
List the factors outside the person's control before judging whether they earned their outcome.
Same family: Stereotypes
SourcesLerner & Simmons (1966)·Wikipedia