Collective Victimhood and Ingroup Identity Jointly Shape Intergroup Relations, Even in a Non-violent Conflict: The Case of the Belgians.
Psychol Belg 2017;
57:98-114. [PMID:
30479795 PMCID:
PMC6196837 DOI:
10.5334/pb.334]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Collective victimhood is the belief that one’s own group has been
intentionally and undeservingly harmed by another group (Bar-Tal, Chernyak-Hai, Schori, & Gundar, 2009). While
previous research has established the link between collective victimhood and
negative intergroup behaviors, the underlying mechanism is virtually unexplored.
In the current study, we test the idea that intergroup emotions play an
important role, particularly for those group members who are highly identified.
Whereas previous research has primarily studied collective victimhood in violent
contexts, the current study focuses on its role in the intergroup relations in
Belgium, known as a non-violent conflict between French and Dutch speakers.
The associations between collective victimhood, intergroup emotions, and action
tendencies were studied in an online survey. The sample consisted of both
French-speaking and Dutch-speaking Belgians (Ntotal
= 1774). Structural equation modeling showed that collective victimhood was
negatively related to intergroup affiliative emotions (i.e., sympathy) and
positively to intergroup distancing emotions (i.e., anger). In addition, these
relationships were stronger for participants who strongly identified with their
ingroup. Furthermore, intergroup affiliative emotions positively predicted
fostering contact with outgroup members, and negatively predicted the tendencies
to exclude and take revenge on the outgroup; intergroup distancing emotions
positively predicted outgroup exclusion and revenge, and negatively predicted
fostering contact with them. The established associations were no different
between the linguistic groups. Our results confirm that collective victimhood,
and the emotions associated, can help to understand intergroup conflict in
non-violent contexts, in addition to violent ones.
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