When good fortune lands in our laps, many of us are quick to see it as a reward from the universe. But when others stumble, we’re just as likely to chalk it up to cosmic payback.
A new study led by York University Faculty of Health Professor Cindel White, published in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, explores why people reach for karmic explanations – and what these beliefs reveal about us.
White’s research, which surveyed participants in the U.S., India and Singapore, found a striking pattern: people are far more likely to see their own positive experiences as karmic rewards, while viewing others’ misfortunes as deserved punishment.
“Thinking about karma allows people to take personal credit and feel pride in good things that happen to them, even when it isn’t clear exactly what they did to create the good outcome,” White, a psychology professor, explains. “But it also allows people to see other people’s suffering as justified retribution.”
This tendency, White suggests, is rooted in deep psychological motives. “It satisfies various personal motives – to see oneself as good and deserving of good fortune, and to see justice in other people’s suffering. Supernatural beliefs like karma might be especially good at satisfying these motives when other, more secular explanations fail,” she says.
What’s surprising is how consistent this pattern is across cultures. While North Americans have a reputation for self-enhancement and people in Asian countries are thought to be more self-critical, White’s team found only minor differences. “The positive bias in karmic self-perceptions is a bit weaker in the Indian and Singaporean samples, compared to U.S. samples, but across all countries participants were much more likely to say that other people face karmic punishments, but they receive karmic rewards for themselves.”
Why do humans reach for these kinds of explanations in the first place? White points to the power of meaning-making.
“Supernatural explanations often provide a way to interpret otherwise inexplicable life events in ways that are compatible with their general view of how the world should work,” she says. The appeal is especially strong in cultures where religious traditions reinforce these ideas. “People learn from those around them that karma is a reasonable way to explain life events, and sometimes these supernatural explanations provide an even more compelling way to find meaning than more mundane explanations.”
The real-world consequences of these beliefs go beyond personal comfort. White warns that karmic thinking can reinforce social inequalities and dampen empathy.
“Karmic explanations can make people feel especially deserving and proud of their successes, and to feel like successful people deserve their higher status,” she says. “But it might also lead believers to sometimes blame people for the misfortune they are suffering, and feel less sympathy and desire to help someone who is in need.”
Read the full study: Karma Rewards Me and Punishes You: Self–Other Divergences in Karma Beliefs.