Collective blame drives vicarious retribution spirals that escalate intergroup conflict.

Evidence

Members of a group that were harmed by the wrongdoing would be particularly likely to assign collective responsibility to the perpetrator’s group (see Wohl & Branscombe, this volume, Chapter 15). Although conflict can begin for many reasons, one important source and perpetuator of conflict between groups is collective blame. That is, members of groups are blamed for the actions committed by fellow group members and these people are then retaliated against in lieu of the actual perpetrator. This act of vicarious retribution may itself spur an act of counter-retaliation, which creates an escalating spiral of conflict (Lickel et al., 2004). — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 351

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Perceived group tightness drives collective blame for members’ misdeeds — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 268; Collective victimhood drives revenge more than reconciliation in both groups — R. C. Tripathi, R. Kumar, and V. N. Tripathi, When the Advantaged Feel Victimised:…, 128; Collective frustration acts through ideology rather than directly causing aggression — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1573 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Aggressive retribution spreads to all group members only when group is entitative #qualifies (0.85) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 275
• Shared group-level frustrations, not individual ones, drive blame of outgroups #corroborates (0.85) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1578
• Genocidal killing sprees are driven by blaming an outgroup for one’s own misfortunes. #exemplifies (0.83) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1558
• People retaliate harder against cohesive groups after one member harms them #exemplifies (0.82) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 272
• Perceived group tightness drives collective blame for members’ misdeeds #expands (0.80) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 268
• Collective victimhood drives revenge more than reconciliation in both groups #corroborates (0.78) — R. C. Tripathi, R. Kumar, and V. N. Tripathi, When the Advantaged Feel Victimised, 128
• Collective guilt functions adaptively by motivating reparation and preventing repeated intergroup conflict #complicates (0.76) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 87
• Conflict escalation lowers group-based guilt and raises exonerating cognitions over time. #complicates (0.75) — Sonia Roccas and Yechiel Klar and Ido Liviatan, The Paradox of Group-Based Guilt, 87
• Diffusion of blame across many actors erases individual accountability for collective harm #complicates (0.73) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1556
• Collective frustration acts through ideology rather than directly causing aggression #complicates (0.72) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1573