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The Difficulty of Making Reparations Affects the Intensity of Collective Guilt

Simon Fraser University, mschmitt{at}sfu.ca

Daniel A. Miller

Indiana University, Purdue University

Nyla R. Branscombe

University of Kansas

Jack W. Brehm

University of Kansas

We examined how the difficulty of making reparations for the harm done to another group affects the intensity of collective guilt. Men were confronted with information documenting male privilege and were told that they would have a chance to help women and reduce patriarchy by collecting signatures on a petition. We manipulated the difficulty of making reparations by asking participants to collect 5, 50, or 100 signatures. As predicted by Brehm's (1999) theory of emotional intensity, collective guilt was a non-monotonic function of the difficulty of making reparations. Men in the moderate difficulty (50 signatures) condition expressed greater collective guilt than participants in the low (5) or high (100) difficulty conditions. Results are discussed in terms of the implications for the theory of emotional intensity, collective guilt, and collective emotions more generally.

Key Words: collective guilt • emotion • emotional intensity • guilt • intergroup emotion

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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Google Scholar Articles by Schmitt, M. T. Articles by Brehm, J. W. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?