Mere ingroup membership biases members to deny their group’s causal role in harm

Evidence

The interpretative bias that group members show when making attributions for the actions and outcomes of an outgroup has been termed the ultimate attribution error (Pettigrew, 1979). In addition to making negative attributions for outgroup member’s actions, people also show a pervasive tendency to make positive attributions for their ingroup’s actions and outcomes (Rantilla, 2000). Thus, when a negative intergroup event occurs, merely being a member of the perpetrating group biases one to blame external factors rather than to recognize the ingroup’s causal role in the event (Doosje & Branscombe, 2003). — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 298

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Highly identified group members minimize collective guilt by morally reinterpreting ingroup wrongs — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2278; In-group glorification but not attachment predicts justifying harm against out-groups — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2115; Perceived group tightness drives collective blame for members’ misdeeds — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 268 (+12 more)

Broader Connections

• Highly identified group members minimize collective guilt by morally reinterpreting ingroup wrongs #expands (0.93) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2278
• Moral disengagement mechanisms enable justification of in-group harm. #expands (0.90) — Sonia Roccas and Yechiel Klar and Ido Liviatan, The Paradox of Group-Based Guilt, 47
• Merely priming in-group membership may trigger morality principle shifts without moral content #exemplifies (0.85) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2140
• Perceiving a group’s wrongdoing as situationally justifiable blocks collective guilt #qualifies (0.84) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 297
• Group decision making lets members discount their share of collective harm #expands (0.83) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 429
• Detected ingroup harm triggers a moral shift elevating loyalty over harm principles #expands (0.82) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2125
• Even minimal, meaningless group membership triggers ingroup-favoring discrimination in children #exemplifies (0.82) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2003
• Ingroup members harshly punish peers who hold balanced or moderate outgroup attitudes #exemplifies (0.80) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2019
• Threat amplifies attribution biases that exonerate ingroups and damn outgroups #expands (0.80) — Walter G. Stephan, Oscar Ybarra, Kimberly Rios Morrison, Intergroup Threat Theory, 358
• Shared group membership alone can trigger emotional reactions to others’ harm #expands (0.79) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2266
• In-group glorification but not attachment predicts justifying harm against out-groups #qualifies (0.78) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2115
• Type of ingroup association moderates whether collective guilt or shame is evoked #qualifies (0.78) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 325
• Essentialized ingroup memberships channel blameworthy acts into image threat and shame #expands (0.77) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 332
• Perceived group tightness drives collective blame for members’ misdeeds #expands (0.75) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 268