Blame judgements for past actions of groups

Historically, groups have committed innumerable atrocities, including genocide and slavery. I tested if people blame current groups for the actions of their past members and what underlies this blame. Current models of blame overlook the dimension of time and therefore have difficulty explaining this phenomenon. I hypothesized that perceiving higher (a) connectedness between past and present perpetrator groups, (b) unfulfilled obligations of perpetrator groups, (c) continued privilege of perpetrator groups, and (d) continued harm of victim groups would facilitate higher blame judgements against current groups for the past. In a survey (N=518) using real events, I find results consistent with all the four hypotheses and some preliminary evidence for group differences in these relationships. I find that factors that link the present group to the past explain why groups are blamed for their past actions. These findings bring to light the deficiencies in existing theories of blame - calling into question its assumptions and incomplete criterion of judgement.