Fostering Contact After Historical Atrocities: The Potential of Moral Exemplars

Abstract

Intergroup contact is a known remedy for complicated intergroup relations. At the same time, contact is rare in postconflict settings. In the present article, we examine whether exposure to narratives about moral exemplars (i.e., members of a perpetrator group who acted morally and in opposition to the passivity or aggression displayed by majority) could increase openness to contact among historical adversaries. In Study 1 (N = 73), presenting members of a historical perpetrator group with information about ingroup moral exemplars led to a decrease of prejudice towards individuals from a historical victim group, which, in turn, resulted in higher openness to contact with them. In Study 2 (N = 100) and 3 (N = 92), exposure to narratives about outgroup moral exemplars in a historically victimized group increased openness to contact with members of a perpetrator group. These effects were mediated by a decrease in prejudice (Studies 2 and 3) and by an increase in trust towards historical perpetrators (Study 2).

Can Information about Pandemics Increase Negative Attitudes toward Foreign Groups? A Case of COVID-19 Outbreak

“…These nationalities expanded the variety of the target groups from Study 1 in an exploratory and arbitrary manner in order to gain a broader view of the effect of COVID-19 on prejudice toward outgroups. Feelings were reported using slider questions ranging from 0-"cold, negative", to 100-"warm, positive" (the so-called "feeling thermometer", a measure used to capture the affective component of intergroup relations [33][34][35][36]).…”

How do we get people into contact? Predictors of intergroup contact and drivers of contact seeking

“…A strategy called "the moral exemplars approach" is based on exposing people to stories of perpetrator group members who acted morally, and in opposition to the majority, during times of intergroup violence. Witkowska et al (2019) examined the effects of moral exemplars stories in the contexts of the Armenian Genocide, and of Polish-German and Polish-Russian relations during WWII. They found that an exposure to such narratives increased openness toward contact with the former adversary both among perpetrator and victim groups members, and that this effect was mediated by an increase in outgroup trust and a decrease in prejudice.…”

Appealing to Moral Exemplars: Shared Perception of Morality as an Essential Ingredient of Intergroup Reconciliation

“…In another study conducted in Poland in the context of the Nazi occupation and the postwar Polish–German relationships, the effects of narratives about out‐group moral exemplars were tested among former victim group members (Witkowska, Beneda, Čehajić‐Clancy, & Bilewicz, ). Polish university students were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions.…”

“…Despite these important constraints (e.g., Beneda, Witkowska, Khachatryan, Grigoryan, & Bilewicz, ; Witkowska et al., ), there is considerable evidence that narratives about rescue actions during genocides and other forms of conflict may carry enormous potential for improving intergroup relations. Such narratives not only restore a sense of in‐group and out‐group morality, they can also catalyze the positive effects of contact.…”