The Social Psychology of Genocide Denial: Do the Facts Matter

Beginning in the mid-1800s, for over one hundred years, the Government of Canada operated church-run Indian Residential Schools for the purpose of "civilizing" the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada. Scholars, as well as members of the public suggest, sometimes strongly, that the term genocide should be used to describe what happened in Residential Schools. The purpose of this research was to examine how non-Aboriginal Canadians might respond if the label genocide is used to describe what happened in Residential Schools. In two studies, I manipulated the perception of Residential Schools as genocide by informing (or not informing) undergraduate student participants that some people believe what happened should be labeled genocide. I also assessed the potential moderating role of knowledge by either measuring participants' preexisting knowledge of Residential Schools (Study 1) or manipulating how much participants learned about Residential Schools through a passage (Study 2). As expected, participants' reactions to the genocide label depended on what they knew about Residential Schools. Participants with a superficial level of knowledge responded defensively to a description of Residential Schools as genocide, presumably because they felt symbolically (and unfairly) criticized by the label. In contrast, participants with no knowledge or high levels of knowledge responded positively to a description of Residential Schools as genocide, presumably because they could not reasonably dispute the label. Together, these findings provide theoretical insight into how knowledge affects perpetrator group members' reactions to historical harms and offers practical advice for advocates and organizations working to foster intergroup reconciliation in Canada.;Keywords: Residential Schools, Genocide, Knowledge, Social Identity, Political Communication.