ABSTRACT
Groups are motivated to think of themselves as moral: at least as moral as relevant outgroups, if not more so. This motivation nudges groups toward developing moral cultures, but also incentivizes group members to deny, rationalize, or trivialize immoralities that exist. Because of this, the task of identifying sub-optimal cultures and triggering reform is sometimes left to agents of change who are members of the outgroup. Providing moral feedback like this is a fraught endeavour: the intergroup context presents powerful psychological obstacles to creating change, and failure to understand the psychology of intergroup communication can cause more damage than good. This chapter details the intergroup factors that lead to defensiveness in the face of moral feedback. Lessons from this research highlight common mistakes people make when communicating between groups on morally charged issues, while also pointing to concrete and actionable steps for triggering positive change.
