According to one study in researchers at New
York University's Steinhardt School, some students in low-income families who
grow up believing that hard work always is rewarded may be more likely to
engage in risky behavior. Results showed that system justification was
associated with higher self-esteem, less delinquent behavior, and better
classroom behavior in sixth grade but worse trajectories of these outcomes from
sixth to eighth grade. The results build on “system justification," a
social-psychology theory that believes humans tend to defend, bolster, or
rationalize the status quo and see overarching social, economic, and political
systems as good, fair, and legitimate. These findings provide novel evidence
that system-justifying beliefs undermine the well-being of marginalized youth
and that early adolescence is a critical developmental period for this process.
Godfrey,
E. B., Santos, C. E., & Burson, E. (2017). For better or worse? System-justifying
beliefs in sixth-grade predict trajectories of self-esteem and behavior across
early adolescence. Child Development. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12854
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