The identification-guilt paradox revisited – Evidence for a curvilinear relationship between group-level self-investment and group-based guilt

Empirical evidence on the relationship between strength of in-group identification and collective guilt is mixed. Some studies point to anegative relationship, other work has found apositive or no link. We assume that the relationship between identification (group-level self-investment and self-definition) and collective guilt is inverted U-shaped (quadratic). Furthermore, we expect that self-investment in the group should be more central for the experience of collective guilt than self-definition. The results of three studies (N-total = 304) support our assumptions. They provide evidence for aquadratic relationship between self-investment and collective guilt about an in-group's misconduct across different contexts, indicating that respondents with medium levels (vs. high/low levels) of self-investment experienced more guilt. No quadratic effects were found for self-definition.