Ongoing historical harms trigger defensive denial where ended ones allow acknowledgment

Evidence

Our prediction, derived from self-categorization theory (Turner et al., 1987), that lower identifiers who take the perpetrator’s perspective will react defensively to and feel less guilty about immoral ingroup actions that have consequences in the present compared to when it ended in the past, is also supported by the external attribution questions. … This can be interpreted as an attempt by lower identifiers to downgrade the negative portrayal of their group in the present, which reflects less negatively on themselves as ingroup members. This defensive behavior may result from the fact that lower identifiers feel more implicated in the immoral behavior of their group when it continues to have an effect in the present compared to when it has ended in the past. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 1078

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Perspective-taking with victims makes strong identifiers deny uniformity of wrongdoing — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 1087; Admitting group immorality is easier when it does not reflect on the group today — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 1069; Escalating conflict reduces in-group acknowledgment of past wrongdoings — Sonia Roccas and Yechiel Klar and Ido Liviatan, The Paradox of Group-Based Guilt: Modes…, 130 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Escalating conflict reduces in-group acknowledgment of past wrongdoings #corroborates (0.85) — Sonia Roccas and Yechiel Klar and Ido Liviatan, The Paradox of Group-Based Guilt, 130
• Conflict escalation alters even retrospective moral judgments of past in-group harms. #corroborates (0.82) — Sonia Roccas and Yechiel Klar and Ido Liviatan, The Paradox of Group-Based Guilt, 86
• Collective guilt over past harms becomes discussable only long after the events #corroborates (0.78) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 1109
• Moral critiques of in-group misdeeds reduce defensive reactions better than pragmatic arguments #qualifies (0.72)