Acknowledgment after mass violence: Effects on psychological well-being and intergroup relations

Abstract

Four experiments in the context of the Armenian Genocide (Study 1), the Kielce Pogrom (Study 2), and the Holocaust (Studies 3 and 4) examined the effects of experiencing acknowledgment (vs. lack of acknowledgment) of historical ingroup victimization on psychological well-being and on intergroup relations. Armenian and Jewish American participants, respectively, read about the former perpetrator group’s acknowledgment or lack of acknowledgment of the ingroup’s victimization. Participants in the acknowledgment condition reported higher levels of psychological well-being (indicated by more positive and less negative affect) and greater willingness to reconcile with the former perpetrator group, compared to participants in the no acknowledgment condition and to a neutral baseline control condition (Study 4). Two studies also revealed significant effects on resentment of the perpetrator group.