Melvin J. Lerner

Melvin J. Lerner, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Waterloo between 1970 and 1994 and now a visiting scholar at Florida Atlantic University, has been called "a pioneer in the psychological study of justice". As a scientist he has also been associated with University of California, Berkeley, Washington University, St Louis, Universities of Utrecht and Leiden in the Netherlands, and other institutions.

Dr Lerner received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology in 1957 at New York University, and a Post-doctoral in Clinical Psychology at Stanford University. Dr Lerner was awarded Distinguished Professor Emeritus at University of Waterloo in 1994, he has received the Max-Planck-Forschungspreis together with Prof Leo Montada in 1993, and the Quinquennial Award in 1986. In 2008 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Society for Justice Research. Dr Lerner is most recognized for the Just-world phenomenon, published in "The Belief in a Just World: A Fundamental Delusion" (1980), and for being co-editor of the first volume devoted to the "Justice Motive" in 1981. He was also the founding editor of the journal Social Justice Research and the series of volumes "Critical Issues in Social Justice" published by Plenum Press.