German victimhood memories: The role of (motivated) memory bias and transmission.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Roland Imhoff
• Subject Area: Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 465782930

During her visit to the former concentration camp Auschwitz in 2019, Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized that responsibility for the deeds of that time belongs inseparably to Germany. Awareness of historical perpetration is an integral part of national identity in Germany, she said. Despite the clear visibility of German Nazi perpetration in sociopolitical discourse, empirical studies in Germany for three decades have repeatedly pointed to an increased perception of Germans as victims of National Socialism. This increased visibility of German victimhood -which contrasts with the publicly dominant perpetrator narrative- could be attributed to both differences in memory and differences in the interpersonal transmission of information about perpetration and victimhood. However, there has been little research that empirically examined victim perceptions in Germany, thereby systematically investigating the role of memory and transference processes. The present project aims to fill this gap. In the first series of experimental studies, signal detection theory will be used to examine whether the victimhood of one's own group is represented emotionally biased in comparison to the perpetration of one's own group and victimhood of another group. In the second series of studies, the paradigm of serial reproduction will be used to examine whether narratives about historical events differ in content and language depending on whether one's own group belongs to the victims or perpetrators. The final part of the project addresses motivational processes. Based on the Needs-Based Model, we examine whether the memory and transmission biases examined in the first two parts can be interrupted by experimentally fulfilling the need for moral restoration. Thus, the current project aims to shed light on the previously underexplored processes that may underlie perceived collective victimhood in historical perpetrator groups.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants