To Forgive Is Divine? Morality and the Status Value of Intergroup Revenge and Forgiveness

Autor: Stephen Benard, Long Doan, D. Adam Nicholson, Emily Meanwell, Eric L. Wright, Peter Lista
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Vol 8, Iss 6, Pp 122-139 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2377-8253
2377-8261
DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2022.8.6.07
Popis: Intergroup conflict is a costly and persistent aspect of social life, and one that often carries great moral significance for those who participate in it. Ostensibly moral behaviors can provide a path to social status in groups, as when self-sacrificing in-group members gain respect and prestige relative to their peers. This article bridges these two ideas to examine the perceived morality and status worthiness of intergroup revenge and forgiveness, and the moral accounts used to justify them. Using an original survey experiment conducted on a national probability sample in the United States, we examine everyday intergroup conflicts across national, sports, and political identities. We find forgiveness is perceived as more moral, and in turn more status worthy, than revenge. Justifications for moral judgments typically drew on accounts of harm/care, reciprocity, and avoiding chaos and disorder. This contributes to research on conflict, group dynamics, status, and morality.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals