Abstract
Groups have committed historical wrongs (e.g., genocide, slavery). We investigated why people blame
current groups who were not involved in the original historical wrong for the actions of their predecessors
who committed these wrongs and are no longer alive. Current models of individual and group blame
overlook the dimension of time and therefore have difficulty explaining this phenomenon using their
existing criteria like causality, intentionality, or preventability. We hypothesized that factors that help
psychologically bridge the past and present, like perceiving higher (a) connectedness between past and
present perpetrator groups, (b) continued privilege of perpetrator groups, (c) continued harm of victim
groups, and (d) unfulfilled forward obligations of perpetrator groups would facilitate higher blame
judgments against current groups for the past. In two repeated-measures surveys using real events (N1 =
518, N2 = 495) and two conjoint experiments using hypothetical events (N3 = 598, N4 = 605), we find
correlational and causal evidence for our hypotheses. These factors link present groups to their past and
cause more historical blame and support for compensation policies. This work brings the dimension of time
into theories of blame, uncovers overlooked criteria for blame judgments, and questions the assumptions of
existing blame models. Additionally, it helps us understand the psychological processes undergirding
intergroup relations and historical narratives mired in historical conflict. Our work provides psychological
insight into the debates on intergenerational justice by suggesting methods people can use to ameliorate the
psychological legacies of historical wrongs and atrocities.