The effect of expecting future intergroup interactions on collective guilt

Abstract

The present study examined the effect of an expectation of future intergroup interactions on the degree of collective guilt caused by a transgression by in-group members toward an out-group. Drawing on evidence that a need to maintain interpersonal relations with a victim induces a feeling of personal guilt, we hypothesized that collective guilt might have a similar effect at the intergroup level. We also examined whether an expectation of future intergroup interactions moderates the effect of in-group identification on collective guilt. Sixty Japanese undergraduates participated in a study involving an intergroup game paradigm with a 2×2 factorial design. All participants were led to experience collective guilt due to a transgression by in-group members toward the out-group. The extent of group identification was manipulated by enhancing or lowering in-group fairness. Furthermore, half of the participants were told that they would have to cooperate with the out-group in the subsequent task. As predicted, the participants who strongly identified with their group felt greater collective guilt, particularly when they expected that intergroup cooperation would subsequently be required.