My research focuses primarily on how people's concerns about justice affect their reactions to their own and others' experiences. Past research includes studies examining reactions of people who have been victimized in some way (e.g., spinal cord injury) or, alternatively, reactions to the victimization of another person (e.g., cancer). We have found that perceptions of deservingness significantly influence the reactions people have to their own and others' fate. Recent research has focused on reactions to perpetrators, including the tendency to demonize them. We have also been exploring the tendency for people to view negative experiences as "punishment" even when they know this reaction is not rational.