People feel guilt by association for ancestors’ deeds without direct responsibility
Evidence
A rather indirect form of group-based guilt can occur when people’s group membership associates them with those who have committed moral violations (Branscombe et al., 2002). For example, Doosje et al. (1998, Study 2) induced “guilt by association” by giving Dutch students clear evidence that Dutch colonists had treated Indonesians unfairly in the past. Although these Dutch participants did not feel directly responsible for the injustices their ancestors had perpetrated, they felt guilty because the perpetrators had been Dutch like them. This type of “guilt by association” seems likely in situations where group members are made to face their ancestors’ harmful actions, and may lead people to take steps to acknowledge their group’s past wrongdoing. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 1810
Categorization
- recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
- XREF: connects to: Collective guilt can occur without any personal responsibility for the harm — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 71; Legal and moral guilt cannot be inherited, but inherited group guilt feelings can — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 1155; People feel moral obligations they never actually agreed to. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 460 (+5 more)
Broader Connections
- Mild group identifiers feel guilty when harm is distant and done by others
#corroborates(0.82) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 1069 - People feel emotions for group members and deny their group’s harmful acts
#expands(0.80) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2092 - People feel moral obligations they never actually agreed to.
#expands(0.78) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 460