The Impact of Intergroup Emotions on Forgiveness in Northern Ireland Tania Tam, Miles Hewstone, Ed Cairns, Nicole Tausch, Greg Maio, Jared Kenworthy
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Impact of Intergroup Emotions on Forgiveness in Northern Ireland Tania Tam, Miles Hewstone, Ed Cairns, Nicole Tausch, Greg Maio, Jared Kenworthy To cite this version: Tania Tam, Miles Hewstone, Ed Cairns, Nicole Tausch, Greg Maio, et al.. The Impact of Intergroup Emotions on Forgiveness in Northern Ireland. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, SAGE Publications, 2007, 10 (1), pp.119-136. 10.1177/1368430207071345. hal-00571643 HAL Id: hal-00571643 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00571643 Submitted on 1 Mar 2011 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 2007 Vol 10(1) 119–135 The Impact of Intergroup Emotions on Forgiveness in Northern Ireland Tania Tam and Miles Hewstone University of Oxford Ed Cairns University of Ulster Nicole Tausch University of Oxford Greg Maio Cardiff University Jared Kenworthy University of Texas at Arlington Although prejudice researchers have mainly focused their attention on changing attitudes toward outgroups, other outcome variables may also be important. In post-confl ict reconciliation, intergroup forgiveness may play a crucial role in helping groups in confl ict put the atrocities of the past behind them (Cairns, Tam, Hewstone, & Niens, 2005). Two studies showed that both the specifi c intergroup emotion of anger and infrahumanization (the attribution of more human emotions to the ingroup than to the outgroup) predicted decreased intergroup forgiveness in Northern Ireland. Results further revealed intergroup contact as a potential means of reducing anger toward the outgroup and improving attitudes toward them. This research integrated prior interpersonal theory with intergroup literature to examine the concept of intergroup forgiveness and its predictors. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for reconciliation in confl ict societies. keywords forgiveness, infrahumanization, intergroup contact, intergroup emotions The cycle of reprisal and counter-reprisal . had to be broken, and [. .] the only way to do this was to go beyond retributive justice to Author’s note restorative justice, to move on to forgiveness, Address correspondence to Tania Tam, because without it there was no future. Legal Services Research Centre, 85 Grays (Archbishop Desmond Tutu, No Future Without Inn Road, London NW6 4PT, UK Forgiveness, p. 209) [email: [email protected]] Copyright © 2006 SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi) 10:1; 119–135; DOI: 10.1177/1368430207071345 Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 10(1) To escape a self-perpetuating cycle of vio- forgiving a transgressor (McCullough, Bellah, lence and retaliation inherent in situations of Kilpatrick, & Johnson, 2001). Thus, forgiveness widespread sectarian confl ict, violence on both may promote overall relationship satisfaction sides must cease, and a strategy of cooperation in interpersonal relations (Kachadourian, must be pursued (McLernon, Cairns, & Hewstone, Fincham, & Davila, 2005). On the intergroup 2002). Intergroup forgiveness may serve to break level, forgiveness involves the release of negative the cycle of violence and aid in the reconciliation feelings toward the perpetrator’s group (Tutu, process after a protracted intergroup confl ict. 1999) and prosocial behaviors toward that An understanding of intergroup forgiveness is of group (Wohl & Branscombe, 2005). People who particular importance in post-confl ict societies forgive a historical perpetrator category (e.g. such as Northern Ireland, where groups involved Jews forgiving Germans) are, for example, more in intergroup confl ict are often encouraged willing to become friends with a member of that to ‘move on’ from the past. Where intergroup group and to buy products made by them (e.g., confl ict is concerned, however, the past is intim- German cars; Wohl & Branscombe, 2005). ately part of the present. The past forms part of Negative emotions that result from intergroup the ongoing intergroup competition central to confl ict persist long after the violence itself has any intergroup confl ict, with people in Northern stopped (Wohl & Branscombe, 2005). These Ireland remembering battles fought long ago negative cross-community feelings must be (Cairns & Darby, 1998). addressed in the promotion of more positive inter- The research on building forgiveness has cen- group relations and reconciliation of the two tered on the individual and interpersonal levels communities. This survey explores intergroup (e.g. McCullough, Pargament, & Thoresten, emotions in the prediction of intergroup 2000). Although the fi ndings of this research forgiveness in Northern Ireland, based on are relevant to the intergroup level, they are theories of both interpersonal forgiveness and not immediately applicable to it. Therefore, intergroup relations. relevant research on interpersonal forgiveness and the effects of forgiveness on individuals Intergroup emotions and forgiveness: must be extrapolated and empirically examined the role of anger on the intergroup level to elucidate why certain individuals on both sides of the divide are able to Relations between groups often involve intense forgive past wrongs and break the cycles of revenge emotions, and although social psychological that typically escalate intergroup confl ict. On explanations for discriminatory behavior tend November 8, 1987, for instance, when Gordon to focus on prejudice as an attitude, specifi c Wilson’s daughter, Marie, was killed in an IRA intergroup emotions may be more condu- bomb attack, he said, ‘I bear no ill will, I bear cive to predicting intergroup behaviors than no grudge’. On the other side of the sectarian general outgroup evaluation is (Smith, 1993). divide, Michael McGoldrick’s son, Michael, Differentiated emotions may be more accurate was shot by Protestant paramilitaries on July 8, for predicting behavior than attitudes are, 1996, yet he pleaded, ‘Bury your pride with my because evaluating groups as simply positive boy. To those who’ve done this, I and my family or negative does not allow for differential pre- forgive you’ (Cairns et al., 2005). Such acts of dictions about groups that are feared, hated, forgiveness may break a cycle of vengeance and respected, or liked. Moreover, a greater variety violence. Such acts are, however, rare. of outgroup behaviors may be explained by Forgiveness permits the relationship between various emotions (Mackie & Smith, 2002). Anger, the confl icting parties to move forward after a for example, is particularly related to decreased transgression (Zechmeister & Romero, 2002). forgiveness. In fact, according to Baumeister, Forgiving a transgressor has, in fact, repeatedly Exline, & Sommer (1998), ‘to forgive someone been shown to result in less turmoil and more means to cease feeling angry or resentful over the positive emotional reactions compared with not transgression’ (p. 85). The process of forgiving, 120 Tam et al. intergroup forgiveness on the individual level, involves letting go of Specifi c emotions are states of immediate negative emotions without seeking to improve readiness to act (Frijda, 1986) and are theorized relations with the transgressor (Baumeister as directing behavior (Smith, 1993). Mackie, et al., 1998). However, whether or not the victim Devos, and Smith (2000) have shown that seeks to improve relations with the transgressor, although anger and fear are both forms of forgiveness can occur only after emotions aroused negative affect, they are empirically distinct by offensive behavior have been addressed and provoke different intergroup behaviors: fear (Harber & Wenberg, 2005). predicts avoidant action tendencies, while anger In forgiveness intervention programs, there predicts aggressive action tendencies against is also a need to confront angry emotions after the outgroup (Devos, Silver, Mackie, & Smith, being hurt. For example, although Enright 2002). In addition to these negative intergroup and colleagues’ ‘Process Model of Forgiveness’ emotions, our recent studies have shown positive emphasizes cognitive processes such as reframing intergroup emotions to be key predictors of the offense, achieving insight, and fi nding mean- out-group attitudes and action tendencies (Tam ing, it begins with the ‘confrontation of anger’ et al., 2006). In the case of predicting forgiveness (Enright & Coyle, 1998). According to Freedman toward the outgroup, the specifi c emotion of and Enright (1996), confronting hostile emotions anger is likely to be involved. We thus tested comes before the cognitive shifts that solidify this for the fi rst time on the intergroup level, forgiveness: ‘Before forgiving, one needs to and hypothesized that the specifi c intergroup express his or her justifi ed anger’ (p. 985) and emotion of anger would be a better predictor ‘the point is to release, not harbor, the anger’ of decreased intergroup forgiveness than a (p. 986). The confrontation and expression general outgroup evaluation and other specifi c of offense-related emotions is one of the most intergroup emotions would be. important