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When we think of human history, it is easy to conclude that violent conflicts are unavoidable. Furthermore, in remembering history, we usually recall violent times and are less likely to remember peaceful societal change. Given the way we remember our history, it is easy to lose sight of the existence of peaceful conflict resolutions or other positive societal changes. The Polish Round Table Talks (RT) that took place in 1989 at times of growing political and economic instabilities serve as an example of peaceful and effective negotiation between two opposing and, one might argue, exclusive ideologies. These talks resulted in an agreement between the Communist government of Poland and the opposition movement Solidarity and paved the road towards the present, democratic and independent Polish state. In this commentary I am going to extrapolate some important socio-psychological mechanisms in the light of contributions made by Janusz Reykowski and Janusz Grzelak - both social psychologists. More specifically, I would like to discuss a specific perception of the other negotiating partner that was activated, formed and maintained during the negotiation, which facilitated the successful outcome. I will argue that the perception of shared morality (perceptions of similarity between the in-group and the out-group on the dimension of morality) was an important socio-psychological mechanism that enabled a stream of other positive psychological processes such as development of trust, as well as cooperative and common-oriented goal tendencies. ; peerReviewed ; publishedVersion

AbstractStories about moral exemplars can provide crucial information about the moral heterogeneity of social groups involved in the conflict. This article addresses the role of moral exemplars narratives in changing perceptions of violent historic intergroup conflicts. We propose that two central outcomes of such interventions make them potentially an effective approach for improving intergroup relations in situations of violent intergroup conflict: (1) facilitation of intergroup contact and (2) increasing reconciliatory attitudes. Although most of the existing research on moral exemplars is focused on their positive outcomes, we suggest that moral exemplars might also have destructive consequences: they could be misused to gain an advantage in an intergroup conflict and might stress the immorality of the non‐helping majority. By integrating these two possibilities, we propose a curvilinear model of the effects of moral exemplars narratives in post‐conflict reconciliation and resolution of violent conflicts.

AbstractA history of intergroup conflict threatens the basic sense of in‐group and out‐group morality. This poses a severe obstacle to reconciliation both on socioemotional (by constraining forgiveness and generating dysfunctional intergroup emotions) and on instrumental (by constraining contact opportunities and effectiveness) levels. We argue and review research on how learning about others' moral behavior can contribute to intergroup reconciliation processes. Acknowledging the central role of morality in individual and group perceptions, we propose a new model of reconciliation grounded in research on moral exemplars. Moral exemplars are examples of individual heroic behavior crossing group borders (out‐group members engage in rescuing in‐group members and in‐group members rescuing out‐group members). We demonstrate how intergroup relations in post conflict societies can be improved through learning about moral exemplars. Based on studies and interventions performed in multiple postgenocide and postconflict settings, we suggest that learning about moral exemplars effectively regulates intergroup relations by enabling forgiveness and contact after mass atrocities. We delineate specific policy‐relevant recommendations that may be applied by practitioners working in societies that have been affected by historical crimes.

AbstractMoral exemplar interventions have been shown to increase many positive intergroup outcomes, including perceptions of outgroup morality. However, existing research on moral exemplar interventions has only been conducted in post‐conflict contexts. This study investigates the effects of a moral exemplar intervention on outgroup evaluations in a non‐conflict context. By examining the effects on three key dimensions of outgroup evaluations (morality, sociability, and competence) in Sweden, we aim to extend the generalizability of moral exemplar interventions. An online experiment was conducted with self‐identified Swedes (N = 193) to explore the effects of outgroup (Middle Eastern) moral versus neutral exemplars. Results indicate that moral exemplar stories increased perceptions of outgroup morality while not significantly affecting perceived outgroup competence or sociability. These findings support the hypothesis that moral exemplars influence a specific positive dimension of outgroup evaluations, namely perceptions of morality, rather than any positive dimension such as sociability or competence. The present study also gives tentative support for the applicability of moral exemplar interventions in contexts and settings with no recent history of collective violence.

Intergroup contact is a known remedy for complicated intergroup relations. At the same time, contact is rare in postconflict settings. In the present article, we examine whether exposure to narratives about moral exemplars (i.e., members of a perpetrator group who acted morally and in opposition to the passivity or aggression displayed by majority) could increase openness to contact among historical adversaries. In Study 1 (N = 73), presenting members of a historical perpetrator group with information about ingroup moral exemplars led to a decrease of prejudice towards individuals from a historical victim group, which, in turn, resulted in higher openness to contact with them. In Study 2 (N = 100) and 3 (N = 92), exposure to narratives about outgroup moral exemplars in a historically victimized group increased openness to contact with members of a perpetrator group. These effects were mediated by a decrease in prejudice (Studies 2 and 3) and by an increase in trust towards historical perpetrators (Study 2).