Confronting the Past to Create a Better Future: The Antecedents and Benefits of Intergroup Forgiveness

Identity and Participation in Culturally Diverse Societies: A Multidisciplinary Perspective

Volumn , Issue , 2010, Pages 338-358

  Branscombe, Nyla R ^a   Cronin, Tracey ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS   (United States)

Author keywords

Benefits associated with truth telling reconciliation processes for groups in power; Confronting the past to create a better future antecedents and benefits of intergroup forgiveness; Importance of reconciling with the past; Interpersonal level, forgiveness thought to occur when victims release angry or resentful feelings about transgression; Perpetrator guilt motivating transgressors to offer an apology; Reconciliation, emotional processes distinct from conflict resolution; South African TRC, built on a psychotherapeutic model of healing painful and difficult task of recounting horrors of past will; South African TRC, with its flaws working model of restorative justice, disparate groups living together peacefully; South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) world recognition, restorative forms of justice; Tavuchis argues that apology, a painful, self punishing, symbolic gesture serving several purposes

Indexed keywords

EID: 83655176393     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
DOI: 10.1002/9781444328158.ch17     Document Type: Chapter

References (72)

1. Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
2. Barkan, E. (2000). The guilt of nations: Restitution and negotiating historical injustices. New York: W. W. Norton.
3. Bar-Tal, D. (2000). Shared beliefs in a society: Social psychological analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
4. Bar-Tal, D., & Bennink, G. H. (2004). The nature of reconciliation as an outcome and as a process. In Y. Bar-Siman-Tov (Ed.), From conflict resolution to reconciliation (pp. 11-38). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
5. Baumeister, R. F., Exline, J. J., & Sommer, K. L. (1998). The victim role, grudge theory, and two dimensions of forgiveness. In E. L. Worthington, Jr. (Ed.), Dimensions of forgiveness: Psychology research and theoretical perspectives (pp. 79-104). Philadelphia: Templeton.
6. Baumeister, R. F., Stillwell, A. M., & Heatherton, T. F. (1994). Guilt: An interpersonal approach. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 243-267.
7. Branscombe, N. R. (2004). A social psychological process perspective on collective guilt. In N. R. Branscombe & B. Doosje (Eds.), Collective guilt: International perspectives (pp. 320-334). New York: Cambridge University Press.
8. Branscombe, N. R., & Doosje, B. (Eds). (2004). Collective guilt: International perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press.
9. Branscombe, N. R., & Miron, A. M. (2004). Interpreting the in-group's negative actions toward another group: Emotional reactions to appraised harm. In L. Z. Tiedens & C. W. Leach (Eds.), The social life of emotions (pp. 314-335). New York: Cambridge University Press.
10. Branscombe, N. R., Slugoski, B., & Kappen, D. M. (2004). The measurement of collective guilt: What it is and what it is not. In N. R. Branscombe & B. Doosje (Eds.), Collective guilt: International perspectives (pp. 16-34). New York: Cambridge University Press.
11. Cehajic, S., Brown, R., & Castano, E. (2008). Forgive and forget? Antecedents and consequences of intergroup forgiveness in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Political Psychology, 28, 351-367.
12. David, R., & Choi, S. P. (2006). Forgiveness and transitional justice in the Czech Republic. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50, 339-367.
13. Doosje, B., Branscombe, N. R., Spears, R., & Manstead, A. S. R. (1998). Guilty by association: When one's group has a negative history. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 872-886.
14. Doosje, B., Branscombe, N. R., Spears, R., & Manstead, A. S. R. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of group-based guilt: The effects of ingroup identification. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 9, 325-338.
15. Exline, J. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Expressing forgiveness and repentance: Benefits and barriers. In M. E. McCullough, K. I. Pargament, & C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), The psychology of forgiveness (pp. 133-155). New York: Guilford Press.
16. Exline, J. J., Baumeister, R. F., Zell, A. L., Kraft, A. J., & Witvliet, C. V. (2008). Not so innocent: Does seeing one's own capability for wrongdoing predict forgiveness? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 495-515.
17. Freedman, S. R., & Enright, R. D. (1996). Forgiveness as an intervention goal with incest survivors. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 983-992.
18. Gaertner, S. L., & Dovidio, J. F. (2000). Reducing intergroup bias: The common ingroup identity model. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
19. Gaertner, S. L., Dovidio, J. F., Anastasio, P. A., Bachman, B. A., & Rust, M. C. (1993). The common ingroup identity model: Recategorization and the reduction of intergroup bias. European Review of Social Psychology, 4, 1-26.
20. Gibson, J. L. (2002). Truth, justice, and reconciliation: Judging the fairness of amnesty in South Africa. American Journal of Political Science, 46, 540-556.
21. Gibson, J. L. (2004). Overcoming apartheid: Can truth reconcile a divided nation? New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
22. Gibson, J. L. (2006). The contributions of truth to reconciliation: Lessons from South Africa. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50, 409-432.
23. Gobodo-Madikizela, P. (2008). Transforming trauma in the aftermath of gross human rights abuses: Making public spaces intimate through the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In A. Nadler, T. E. Malloy, & J. D. Fisher (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup reconciliation (pp. 77-96). New York: Oxford University Press.
24. Halbwachs, M. (1992). On collective memory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
25. Hebl, J. H., & Enright, R. D. (1993). Forgiveness as a psychotherapeutic goal with elderly females. Psychotherapy, 30, 658-667.
26. Hornsey, M. J., & Hogg, M. A. (2000). Subgroup relations: A comparison of the mutual intergroup differentiation and common ingroup identity models of prejudice reduction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 242-256.
27. Iyer, A., Leach, C. W., & Pederson, A. (2004). Racial wrongs and restitutions: The role of guilt and other group-based emotions. In N. R. Branscombe & B. Doosje (Eds.), Collective guilt: International perspectives (pp. 262-283). New York: Cambridge University Press.
28. Kadima Kadiangandu, J., & Mullet, E. (2007). Intergroup forgiveness: A Congolese perspective. Journal of Peace Psychology, 13, 37-49.
29. Kaminer, D. (2006). Forgiveness attitudes of Truth Commission deponents: Relation to commission response during testimony. Journal of Peace Psychology, 12, 175-187.
30. Karremans, J. C., Van Lange, P. A. M., Ouwerker, J. W., & Kluwer, E. S. (2003). When forgiving enhances psychological well-being: The role of interpersonal commitment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1011-1026.
31. Kelman, H. C. (2008). Reconciliation from a social-psychological perspective. In A. Nadler, T. E. Malloy, & J. D. Fisher (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup reconciliation (pp. 15-32). New York: Oxford University Press.
32. Klandermans, B., Werner, M., & van Doorn, M. (2008). Redeeming apartheid's legacy: Collective guilt, political ideology and compensation. Political Psychology, 29, 331-349.
33. Kurtiş, T., Adams, G., & Yellow Bird, M. (2010). Silence and memory: A cultural psychological analysis of American Thanksgiving celebrations. Memory, 18, 208-224.
34. Licata, L., Saade, W., Klein, O., Branscombe, N. R., & Azzi, A. (2009). Reconciliation in post-civil war Lebanon: Role of social identities and perceptions of the conflict among Maronites. Unpublished manuscript.
35. Long, W. J., & Brecke, P. (2003). War and reconciliation: Reason and emotion in conflict resolution. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
36. Marques, J., Páez, D., & Serra, A. F. (1997). Social sharing, emotional climate, and the transgenerational transmission of memories: The Portuguese colonial war. In J. W. Pennebaker, D. Páez, & B. Rimé (Eds.), Collective memory and political events: Social psychological perspectives (pp. 253-275). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
37. McCullough, M. E., Bellah, C. G., Kilpatrick, S. D., & Johnson, J. L. (2001). Vengefulness: Relationships with forgiveness, rumination, well-being and the big five. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 601-610.
38. McGarty, C., Pedersen, A., Leach, C., Anutei, A., Mansell, T., & Waller, J. (2005). Collective guilt in Australia: Separating personal from official apologies. British Journal of Social Psychology, 44, 659-680.
39. Miller, D. A., Cronin, T., Garcia, A. L., & Branscombe, N. R. (2009). The relative impact of anger and efficacy on collective action is affected by feelings of fear. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 12, 445-462.
40. Minow, M. (1998). Between vengence and forgiveness: Facing history after genocide and mass violence. Boston: Beacon Press.
41. Miron, A. M., & Branscombe, N. R. (2008). Social categorization, standards of justice, and collective guilt. In A. Nadler, T. E. Malloy, & J. D. Fisher (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup reconciliation (pp. 77-96). New York: Oxford University Press.
42. Miron, A. M., Branscombe, N. R., & Biernat, M. (2010). Motivated shifting of justice standards. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. DOI: 10.1177/0146167210370031.
43. Miron, A. M., Branscombe, N. R., & Schmitt, M. T. (2006). Collective guilt as distress over illegitimate intergroup inequality. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 9, 163-180.
44. Mullet, E., Neto, F., & Pinto, M. da C. (2008). What can reasonably by expected from a truth commission: A preliminary examination of East Timorese views. Journal of Peace Psychology, 14, 369-393.
45. Nadler, A., Malloy, T. E., & Fisher, J. D. (Eds.). (2008). Social psychology of intergroup reconciliation. New York: Oxford University Press.
46. Nadler, A., & Shnabel, N. (2008). Instrumental and socioemotional paths to intergroup reconciliation and the needs-based model of socioemotional reconciliation. In A. Nadler, T. E. Malloy, & J. D. Fisher (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup reconciliation (pp. 77-96). New York: Oxford University Press.
47. Noor, M., Brown, R., Gonzalez, R., Manzi, J., & Lewis, C. A. (2008). On positive psychological outcomes: What helps groups with a history of conflict to forgive and reconcile with each other. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 819-832.
48. Páez, D., Basabe, N., & González, J. L. (1997). Social processes and collective memory. In J. W. Pennebaker, D. Páez, & B. Rimé (Eds.), Collective memory of political events: Social psychological perspectives (pp. 147-174). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
49. Pennebaker, J. W., Páez, D., & Rimé, B. (Eds.). (1997). Collective memory of political events: Social psychological perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
50. Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 751-783. Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act. (1995). Retrieved from http:// www.doj.gov.za/trc/legal/act9534.htm.
51. Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act. (1995). Retrieved from http:// www.doj.gov.za/trc/legal/act9534.htm
52. Rimé, B., Philippot, P., Boca, S., & Mesquita, B. (1992). Long-lasting cognitive and social consequences of emotion: Social sharing and rumination. European Journal of Social Psychology, 3, 225-258.
53. Shnabel, N., & Nadler, A. (2008). A needs-based model of reconciliation: Satisfying the differential emotional needs of victim and perpetrator as a key to promoting reconciliation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 116-132.
54. Smith, H. J., Cronin, T., & Kessler, T. (2008). Anger, fear, or sadness: Faculty members' emotional reactions to collective pay disadvantage. Political Psychology, 29, 221-246.
55. Staub, E. (2004). Justice, healing, and reconciliation: How the people's courts in Rwanda can promote them. Journal of Peace and Conflict, 10, 25-32.
56. Staub, E., Pearlman, L. A., Gubin, A., & Hagengimana, A. (2005). Healing, reconciliation, forgiving, and prevention of violence after genocide or mass killing: An intervention and its experimental evaluation in Rwanda. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24, 297-334.
57. Swim, J. K., & Miller, D. (1999). White guilt: Its correlates and relationship to attitudes about affirmative action. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 500-514.
58. Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of inter-group behavior. In S. Worchel & L. W. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33-47). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
59. Takaku, S., Weiner, B., & Ohbuchi, K. (2001). A cross-cultural examination of the effects of apology and perspective taking on forgiveness. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 20, 144-167.
60. Tam, T., Hewstone, M., Cairns, E., Tausch, N., Maio, G., & Kenworthy, J. (2007). The impact of intergroup emotions on forgiveness. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 10, 119-136.
61. Tavuchis, N. (1991). Mea culpa: A sociology of apology and reconciliation. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
62. Taylor, D. M., & Moghaddam, F. M. (1994). Theories of intergroup relations: International social psychological perspectives (2nd ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger.
63. Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa Report, Volumes 1-7. (1998). Retrieved from http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/trc_frameset.htm.
64. Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
65. Tutu, D. M. (1999). No future without forgiveness. New York: Doubleday.
66. Van Zomeren, M., Spears, R., Fischer, A., & Leach, C. W. (2004). Put your money where your mouth is! Explaining collective action tendencies through groupbased anger and group efficacy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 649-664.
67. Verwoerd, W. (1999). Justice after apartheid? Reflections on the South African TRC. In R. L. Brooks (Ed.), When sorry isn't enough: The controversy over apologies and reparations for human injustice (pp. 479-486). New York: New York University Press.
68. Walker, I., & Smith, H. J. (Eds.). (2002). Relative deprivation: Specification, development and integration. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
69. Weiner, B., Graham, S., Peter, O., & Zmuidinas, M. (1991). Public confession and forgiveness. Journal of Personality, 59, 281-312.
70. Wohl, M. J. A., & Branscombe, N. R. (2005). Forgiveness and collective guilt assignment to historical perpetrator groups depend on level of social category inclusiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 288-303.
71. Wright, S. C., & Lubensky, M. E. (2009). The struggle for social equality: Collective action versus prejudice reduction. In S. Demoulin, J. P. Leyens, & J. F. Dovidio (Eds.), Intergroup misunderstandings: Impact of divergent social realities (pp. 291-310). New York: Psychology Press.
72. Zechmeister, J. S., & Romero, C. (2002). Victim and offender accounts of interpersonal conflict: Autobiographical narratives of forgiveness and unforgiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 675-686.