The two-sided role of inclusive victimhood for intergroup reconciliation: Evidence from Northern Ireland.

Abstract

Inclusive victim beliefs (i.e., perceived similarity with other victim groups worldwide) can have positive effects on intergroup relations. However, there may be limitations to these seemingly constructive construals. We investigated in the Northern Irish context whether inclusive victimhood might sometimes also act as an obstacle to intergroup reconciliation. In Study 1, we found that inclusive victimhood can go along with either high or low competitive victimhood and, in turn, with lesser versus greater willingness for reconciliation, respectively. In Study 2, we asked participants which groups they thought about when responding to inclusive victimhood items, coding whether answers suggested a universal or a selective inclusivity. This type of inclusivity moderated the relationships between inclusive victimhood and readiness for reconciliation: Inclusive victimhood correlated positively with intergroup forgiveness when based on a universal notion of inclusivity, and tended to correlate positively with competitive victimhood when based on a selective notion of inclusivity. These results extend the emerging literature on collective victim beliefs and suggest that expressing shared victimization with other groups may be used strategically to strengthen the ingroup's position in an intergroup conflict, which might act as an obstacle to intergroup reconciliation.

Inclusive victim consciousness predicts minority group members’ support for refugees and immigrants

“…This extends previous research that focused on similarities specifically with the groups mentioned in the outcome measures (e.g., Craig & Richeson, ; Warner et al, ), showing that the effect is more generalizable. Inclusive victim consciousness has previously only been tested in the context of a specific conflict, examining whether it predicts attitudes toward the other conflict‐party (Cohrs et al, ), using single‐item measures (Vollhardt & Bilali, ), or as a manipulation check (e.g., Craig & Richeson, ). Thus, the present paper extends this literature in important ways and provides multi‐item measures of victim consciousness that can be used in future research.…”

How Is Existential Threat Related to Intergroup Conflict? Introducing the Multidimensional Existential Threat (MET) Model

“…This effect of victimization on conflict is not uniform, however, with exclusive victim beliefs usually associated with negative attitudes toward out-groups, and inclusive beliefs with more forgiveness and reconciliation motivations (Vollhardt, 2013, 2015; Vollhardt et al, 2016; but see Cohrs et al, 2015 for a more nuanced understanding of inclusive beliefs). The research on PV and collective angst begs the question: are these two constructs redundant?…”

“…Personal death is associated with intergroup aggression as a means of affirming one’s symbolic worldview (e.g., Pyszczynski et al, 2006; Hirschberger et al, 2009), whereas past victimization is associated with aggression under the dictum of never again . This historical mindset, however, could be framed in inclusive, not exclusive terms (Vollhardt, 2013, 2015; Cohrs et al, 2015), and then reflecting on the group’s past may be associated with less violent inclinations.…”

The Shadows of the Past

“…Although some of the outcomes of FOV are reminiscent of inclusive victimhood, a construal of victimhood which enables group members to acknowledge the resemblance between their group's suffering to that of others (Vollhardt, 2009(Vollhardt, , 2015, the two differ in important ways. Compared to inclusive victimhood, a potentially complex concept that can be interpreted in various fashions (Cohrs, McNeill, & Vollhardt, 2015), FOV more clearly identifies prosocial beliefs and is centered on apprehending the possibility of one's group ruthlessly harming others.…”