Citation

Lickel B, Schmader T, Hamilton DL. Person. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 2003; 29(2): 194-204.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 90089, USA. lickel@usc.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0146167202239045

PMID

15272947

Abstract

Two studies examined perceptions of collective responsibility for the April 20, 1999, shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Collective responsibility refers to the perception that others, besides the wrongdoers themselves, are responsible for the event. In Study 1, the authors assessed perceptions of the shooters' parents and their peer group (the Trenchcoat Mafia), whereas Study 2 tested perceptions of collective responsibility across a range of groups. In both studies, perceptions of a target group's entitativity predicted judgments of collective responsibility. This relationship was mediated by two situational construals that justify applying collective responsibility: responsibility by commission (encouraging or facilitating the event) and responsibility by omission (failing to prevent the event). Study 2 also determined that perceptions of authority predicted judgments of collective responsibility for the Columbine shootings and was mediated by inferences of omission. Future directions in collective responsibility research are discussed.

Language: en