Abstract
Four studies investigated the utility of finding meaning in past wrongdoing to promote intergroup reconciliation. Studies 1a, 1b, and 2 demonstrated that prompting members of perpetrator groups to engage in redemption narratives increases collective guilt and willingness to make reparations—both important in obtaining victims’ forgiveness. Further, Study 2 suggests that redemption narratives (but not sense-making) increase willingness to reconcile and reduce perceived justification. Study 3 suggests that perpetrators’ redemption, but not simply sense-making, narratives led victims to perceive greater change in the perpetrator group and increased victims’ willingness to reconcile, but not forgive. Taken together, the present work highlights the potential for redemption narratives to serve as an intervention for past intergroup conflict, increasing the chance for intergroup reconciliation.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 696-715 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Group Processes and Intergroup Relations |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 24 2015 |
Funding
The authors are also grateful for the support of a Northwestern Graduate Research Grant to the first author, support from the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and NSF Grant #BCS-0921728 to the second author.
Keywords
- intergroup reconciliation
- meaning-making
- redemption narratives
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Cultural Studies
- Communication
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Sociology and Political Science