Shattered Assumptions Theory

In social psychology, shattered assumptions theory proposes that the experiencing of traumatic events can change how one views themselves and the world. Specifically, the theory – developed by Ronnie Janoff-Bulman in 1992 – concerns the effect that negative events have on three inherent assumptions: overall benevolence of the world, meaningfulness of the world, and self worthiness. These assumptions act as schemas to constitute our “assumptive world”, defined as “a strongly held set of assumptions about the world and the self which is confidently maintained and used as a means of recognizing, planning, and acting" by M. Parkes. Janoff-Bulman emphasized the assumptive world as an abstract yet accessible set of ideas, whilst being unarticulated.

The theory of shattered assumptions was developed and detailed by Ronnie Janoff-Bulman in 1992 in her book, Shattered assumptions: Towards a new psychology of trauma. Janoff-Bulman is a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and focuses her studies on mortality and motives surrounding such concepts. Since then, this theory has been widely researched and has since been expanded into more elaborate theories such as Terror Management Theory.

According to Janoff-Bulman, people come up with general assumptions about the world. These assumptions are undeclared and somewhat implicit, and serve as a basis of our well-being. They give meaning to our existence. The beliefs that we create come in many forms. They are general ideas about the world as a whole and reflect its benevolent nature. As Brewin & Holmes state, the five main assumptions are that “the world is benevolent, the world is meaningful, the world is predictable, the assumption of invulnerability, and the self is worthy.“ Therefore, we have high expectations for ourselves, and the world around us, to remain decent and meaningful.

This assumption concerns one’s overall impression of the goodness or virtue of the world. This constitutes two sub-assumptions: the benevolence of the world as an entity, and the benevolence of the people in that world. These two ideas can develop independently through selecting experiences, but aren’t exempt from influencing one another. Measuring this type of assumption has been done using the Negative Cognitions about the World subscale of the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory.

The second fundamental assumption regards life’s events as purposeful. In other words, the event whether negative or positive corresponds to the person’s behavior. When an unjust event happens to an ‘undeserving’ person it is viewed as unfair or wrong. On the flipside, it is assumed that a good person encounters positive events. And a bad person yields negative events. When a person who is good in the eyes of their loved ones dies of an illness, It can seem unfair to the loved ones of the deceased. Thus, the death of someone who is "deserving of good things" can shatter the assumption that the world is meaningful or logical .

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