A majority of people believe that karma, the idea that good deeds are rewarded and bad actions are punished, works, a new study has found. About 59 per cent of the 2,000 people of religious and non-religious backgrounds part of the study claimed to have received rewards for their good deeds.
Speaking about others, a vast majority, 92 per cent, said cheating partners, indebted friends, bullies and coworkers were at the receiving end of the karma for their actions, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
The 2,000 individuals, who took part in the study, were from the US, India, and Singapore, CNN reported.
According to the study, people believe doing good deeds raises the probability of better outcomes, while they fear the opposite for unkind, indifferent and negative behaviour.
Cindel White, the senior author of the study, explained that considering karma allowed people to feel proud and claim personal credit, even if the cause for the favourable result was uncertain or unknown.
She added that it also enabled individuals to view the suffering of others as justified retaliation.
Ms White noted the results offered insights into how our minds assessed ourselves and others.
According to the study, the tendency was a component of attribution bias. People often use this psychological pattern to defend their self-esteem by explaining occurrences in well-documented ways.
Patrick Heck, a psychologist with the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, noted that karma provided a convenient framework for people to feel good about themselves, something most people desired.
Cultural differences have also been incorporated into the study, enabling comparisons between the thought processes of individuals from Western countries, such as the United States, and those from countries like India and Singapore.
It concluded that Indians and Singaporeans were comparatively self-critical, but Americans displayed a larger self-enhancing attitude.
