Heymans Colloquium: Christopher Cohrs, The two-sided role of inclusive victim beliefs for intergroup reconciliation: Evidence from Northern Ireland

LECTURER
Professor Christopher Cohrs, (Jacobs University Bremen, Germany)

TITLE
The two-sided role of inclusive victim beliefs for intergroup reconciliation: Evidence from Northern Ireland

DATE & TIME
Thursday, 13 February 2014, 15.00 - 16.00 hrs

LOCATION
Room M.0061, Munting Building, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, Groningen

ABSTRACT
Collective victimhood beliefs in the aftermath of violent conflict have usually been studied as an obstacle to intergroup reconciliation. Recently, however, it has been suggested that inclusive victim beliefs can have prosocial, constructive effects on intergroup relations. In two correlational studies with Northern Irish participants, we explored whether inclusive victim beliefs might also act as an obstacle to intergroup reconciliation. Inclusive victim beliefs correlated positively with forgiveness when based on a universalistic notion of inclusiveness, but tended to correlate negatively with forgiveness when based on a selective notion. These results suggest that expressing shared collective victimhood with other groups may be used strategically to strengthen one’s own group’s position in an intergroup conflict, which might act as an obstacle to intergroup reconciliation.

For more information you may contact dr. T. (Toon) Kuppens, email address: t.kuppens@rug.nl