TY - JOUR
T1 - The mandate of the collective: Apology representativeness determines perceived sincerity and forgiveness in intergroup contexts
AU - Wenzel, Michael
AU - Okimoto, Tyler
AU - Hornsey, Matthew
AU - Lawrence-Wood, Eleanor
AU - Coughlin, Anne-Marie
PY - 2017/6
Y1 - 2017/6
N2 - The sincerity of an apology is often critical for it to be viewed positively by victims. For collective apologies, we argue that sincerity takes on a particular meaning: It is a function of the apology’s perceived representativeness for the offender group’s will or sentiment. Consistent with this notion, when an apologetic (vs. nonapologetic) message was democratically chosen (Study 1) or explicitly endorsed by the majority of the offending outgroup (Study 2), it was considered more sincere and, through this, led to more forgiveness. Furthermore, while disagreement about an apology within the offender group reduced its perceived representativeness and sincerity, this was less so when the dissenters could be subtyped: when disagreement was correlated with an existing subgroup within the offending outgroup (Study 3) and in line with expectations for that subgroup (Study 4). This research shows that victim group members consider intragroup processes within the offending outgroup for attributions of sincerity.
AB - The sincerity of an apology is often critical for it to be viewed positively by victims. For collective apologies, we argue that sincerity takes on a particular meaning: It is a function of the apology’s perceived representativeness for the offender group’s will or sentiment. Consistent with this notion, when an apologetic (vs. nonapologetic) message was democratically chosen (Study 1) or explicitly endorsed by the majority of the offending outgroup (Study 2), it was considered more sincere and, through this, led to more forgiveness. Furthermore, while disagreement about an apology within the offender group reduced its perceived representativeness and sincerity, this was less so when the dissenters could be subtyped: when disagreement was correlated with an existing subgroup within the offending outgroup (Study 3) and in line with expectations for that subgroup (Study 4). This research shows that victim group members consider intragroup processes within the offending outgroup for attributions of sincerity.
KW - collective apologies
KW - forgiveness
KW - intergroup processes
KW - representativeness
KW - sincerity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85019034458&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0146167217697093
DO - 10.1177/0146167217697093
M3 - Article
SN - 0146-1672
VL - 43
SP - 758
EP - 771
JO - Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
JF - Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
IS - 6
ER -