Understanding Intergroup Violence and Its Aftermath From Perpetrator and Victim Perspectives

Abstract

Abstract This chapter reviews and integrates the psychological literature on how members of perpetrator and victim groups perceive, evaluate, and respond differently to large-scale intergroup violence, as well as institutional and psychological interventions. Despite considerable interest in the psychological analysis of evil and victims of evil, the field’s understanding of collective violence has not yet arrived at a stage where perspectives of perpetrators and victims are well integrated and considered in tandem. This chapter therefore provides insights into the dynamics between perpetrators and victims of intergroup violence, covering topics such as internal and external attribution, harm perception, intergroup emotions, temporal distance, retributive and restorative justice, and various conflict intervention strategies. Furthermore, the authors discuss how social identity shapes involved parties’ divergent responses to violence. They argue that acknowledging the differences between victim and perpetrator groups’ perspectives is key to developing constructive responses to collective violence.