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Moralized memory: binding values predict inflated estimates of the group's historical influence.
Luke Churchill1, Jeremy K Yamashiro1, Henry L Roediger1
1a Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences , Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis , MO , USA.
Memory (Hove, England)
|May 31, 2019
Summary
People overestimate their own group's historical influence due to ingroup inflation. Moral values, especially loyalty, significantly contribute to this biased collective memory.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Collective Memory Studies
- Moral Psychology
Background:
- Collective memories shape group identity.
- Ingroup inflation (national/state narcissism) describes overestimating one's own group's historical influence compared to outsiders.
- The role of moral motivations in this memory bias is underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of moral motivations on ingroup inflation in collective remembering.
- To examine the relationship between endorsement of binding and individuating values and biased historical influence estimates.
Main Methods:
- Survey of 2118 participants across U.S. states.
- Participants rated their home state's and ten other randomly selected states' historical contributions.
- Assessed endorsement of binding values (loyalty, authority, sanctity) and individuating values (care, fairness).
Main Results:
- Confirmed a significant ingroup inflation effect in historical influence estimations.
- Higher endorsement of binding values, particularly loyalty, positively predicted the magnitude of ingroup inflation.
- Endorsement of individuating values (care, fairness) did not predict collective narcissism.
Conclusions:
- Moral motives, especially loyalty, play a crucial role in shaping biased collective remembering.
- Findings suggest that moral values can underpin and amplify ingroup inflation.
- Understanding moral underpinnings is key to addressing biases in historical perception.
Keywords:
Collective memorybinding valuescognitive attractorcollective narcissismmoral foundations theoryMore Related Videos
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