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Collective Guilt and Shame as Motivation for White Support of Black Programs 1
Author(s) -
Harvey Richard D.,
Oswald Debra L.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02468.x
Subject(s) - shame , civil rights , task (project management) , psychology , social psychology , white (mutation) , political science , law , biochemistry , chemistry , management , economics , gene
Two studies examined whether exposing Whites to collective guilt‐ and shame‐inducing stimuli would lead to heightened support for Black programs. White participants watched either a civil‐rights videotape or one of two control videos and then completed either a self‐affirmation task or a filler task. Support for Black programs was measured in a bogus second study. Those who watched the civil‐rights video and completed the filler task suppressed their support for Black programs, whereas those who watched the civil‐rights video and then self‐affirmed displayed the highest levels of Black program support. Findings suggest that Whites might react antisocially to guilt‐ and shame‐inducing situations, and react prosocially only after reaffirming their personal integrity.