Does karma really work? Do bad people really pay the price? Here's what new study says

Time of India

01-05-2025

Self-praise and harsh judgement
Live Events
Attribution bias and the need for justice
Cultural nuances
Implications beyond belief
FAQs
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
A sizable number of people across the world believe in karma—the idea that good deeds bring rewards and bad ones attract wrath of the universe. A new study, published by the American Psychological Association, shows how people apply this belief differently when thinking about themselves versus others.The study, published on May 1, in APA's Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, revealed that people are more inclined to attribute their own good fortune to karmic rewards while viewing others' suffering as deserved punishment.As per a CNN report, the research team led by Cindel White , a PhD candidate from York University, analysed responses of over 2,000 participants from the United States, India, and Singapore. These participants were asked to write about karmic experiences of their own lives and that of others.The results were striking with nearly 59 per cent of the participants describing positive events they experienced as karmic reward. In contrast, nearly 92 per cent of these participants saw that the negative outcome others faced was karmic punishment.Explaining the same, White said that thinking about karma gives people scope to take personal credit and feel pride, even when it is not clear what makes them deserving of the good outcome. However, she added, it also allows people to see others' suffering as justified retribution.The researchers, reportedly, said that this tendency is a part of attribution bias. This is a well-documented psychological pattern, wherein people explain events in ways that protect their self-esteem.Patrick Heck, a psychologist at US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, noted that people generally want to feel good about themselves and karma gives a convenient framework to do so.Additionally, the acceptance that karma-inflicted punishment exists for others fits into the structure of believing in a just world. The belief in a just world enables people to make sense of random events or unfair happenings.The study has also included cultural differences , allowing them to compare how people from western nations like the United States think as opposed to those from places like India and Singapore. It inferred that Americans showed a stronger self-enhancing bias while Indians and Singaporeans were relatively self-critical. However, the overall pattern can be observed across cultures.Experts feel that these biases reflect truly in real life. Yudit Jung, an Emory University psychology professor, told CNN that notions of deservingness might stoke social prejudices like racism and classism. She advised that compassion and the perception of shared humanity may help counter such biases. The team headed by White intends to study in another research how karma beliefs affect decision making.A: The key finding states that individuals have a tendency to perceive good things in their own lives as karmic rewards and bad things occurring to others as deserved punishment.A: Yes, Indian and Singapore participants were less self-enhancing biased than American participants, reflecting cultural differences in self-perception.