Faculty

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Social Psychology Program
Collective Guilt Volume

Research Interests
Professor Branscombe's research has been focused on basic issues of Intergroup Relations--particularly how members of low and high status groups cope with threats to their social identity. Among members of low status groups, the greatest threat to social identity is that of being devalued and discriminated against by members of higher status groups. We examine how such perceived discrimination and exclusion encourages identification with the devalued group, and this in turn partially alleviates the negative consequences of expecting and actually experiencing discrimination. Among high status group members, the greatest threat to social identity is perceiving one's own group as having a history of discriminating against or otherwise harming members of a lower status group. We study how reminders of such illegitimate harm doing is coped with. In particular, we investigate the nature of collective guilt, when it is most likely to be experienced, and how collective guilt can produce reductions in prejudice.

Selected Publications

Postmes, T., & Branscombe, N.R. (in press). Sources of social identity. In T. Postmes & N.R. Branscombe (Eds.), Rediscovering social identity: Core sources. New York: Psychology Press.

Jetten, J., & Branscombe, N.R. (2009). Minority group identification: Responses to discrimination when group membership is controllable. In F. Butera & J.M. Levine (Eds.), Coping with minority status: Responses to exclusion and inclusion (pp. 155-176). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Jetten, J., Haslam, C., Haslam, S.A., & Branscombe, N.R. (2009). The social cure. Scientific American Mind, 20, 26-33.

Miller, D.A., Cronin, T., Garcia, A.L., & Branscombe, N.R. (2009). The relative impact of anger and efficacy on collective action is affected by feelings of fear. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 12, 445-462.

Adams, G., Biernat, M., Branscombe, N.R., Crandall, C.S., & Wrightsman, L.S. (2008). Beyond prejudice: Toward a sociocultural psychology of racism and oppression. In G. Adams, M. Biernat, N.R. Branscombe, C.S. Crandall, & L.S. Wrightsman (Eds.), Commemorating Brown: The social psychology of racism and discrimination (pp. 215-246). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Wohl, M.J.A., & Branscombe, N.R. (2008). Remembering historical victimization: Collective guilt for current ingroup transgressions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 988-1006.

Baron, R.A., Branscombe, N.R., & Byrne, D. (2008). Social psychology (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Guimond, S., Branscombe, N.R., Brunot, S., Buunk, B.P., Chatard, A., Désert, M., Garcia, D.M., Haque, S., Martinot, D., & Yzerbyt, V. (2007). Culture, gender, and the self: Variations and impact of social comparison processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 1118-1134.

Branscombe, N.R., Schmitt, M.T., & Schiffhauer, K. (2007). Racial attitudes in response to thoughts of White privilege. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 203-215.

Miron, A.M., Branscombe, N.R., & Schmitt, M.T. (2006). Collective guilt as distress over illegitimate intergroup inequality. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 9, 163-180.

Wohl, M.J.A., Branscombe, N.R., & Klar, Y. (2006). Collective guilt: Justice-based emotional reactions when one's group has done wrong or been wronged. European Review of Social Psychology, 17, 1-37.

Jetten, J., Branscombe, N.R., & Spears, R. (2006). Living on the edge: Dynamics of intragroup and intergroup rejection experiences. In R. Brown & D. Capozza (Eds.), Social identities: Motivational, emotional and cultural influences (pp. 91-107). London: Sage.

Branscombe, N.R. (2004). A social psychological process perspective on collective guilt. In N.R. Branscombe & B. Doosje (Eds.), Collective guilt: International perspectives (pp. 320-334). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Branscombe, N.R., & Doosje, B. (Eds). (2004). Collective guilt: International perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Branscombe, N.R., & Miron, A.M. (2004). Interpreting the ingroup's negative actions toward another group: Emotional reactions to appraised harm. In L.Z. Tiedens & C.W. Leach (Eds.), The social life of emotions (pp. 314-335). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Branscombe, N.R., Slugoski, B., & Kappen, D.M. (2004). The measurement of collective guilt: What it is and what it is not. In N.R. Branscombe & B. Doosje (Eds.), Collective guilt: International perspectives (pp. 16-34). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Branscombe,N.R., Schmitt, M.T.,&Harvey, R.D. (1999). Perceiving pervasivediscrimination among African-Americans: Implications for group identificationand well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77,135-149.