Historical Blame and Collective Responsibility

Case study

From question to public source.

Each row separates the human question, the evidence, the method, Jonathan's role, the contribution, the public source, and the limits of the claim.

Question

When do people hold present-day groups responsible for harms committed by earlier members of those groups?

Evidence / design

Experimental designs comparing past harm, perceived group continuity, present benefit or harm, and blame judgments.

My role

Coauthor.

Method / approach

Experimental design and statistical analysis used to separate moral judgment from simple historical association.

What it contributes

Research on psychological antecedents of historical blame, including perceived connectedness between past and present groups, current benefit or harm, and unresolved obligations.

Public source

Published, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2024. Open public source

Limits / what not to overclaim

The public framing stays at the level of psychological antecedents and does not add findings beyond the article summary.