“Now You Know, Don't Be Indifferent”: The Emotional Correlates of Learning About Historical Violence and Their Relationship With Current Prosocial Motivation

Abstract

ABSTRACT How does learning about historical violence inspire prosocial action today? Prior work has focused on whether such experiences are (emotionally) impactful but seldom tested the mechanisms of impact. We propose a framework of actor‐specific emotional pathways connecting knowledge of historical violence to contemporary upstanding intentions: empathy for victims, moral emotions toward exemplars (e.g., feeling inspired), and toward perpetrators (e.g., guilt). We tested this in a pre‐registered quasi‐experimental study among Dutch youths ( N = 1,371) participating in a Holocaust museum program, using Structural Equation Modeling to compare post‐visit responses to a pre‐visit control group. Participants surveyed after the program reported higher empathy for victims, positive emotions toward exemplars, and negative emotions toward perpetrators than participants surveyed before the program. However, only empathic concern toward victims mediated the relationship between participating in the museum program and upstanding intentions against antisemitic bullying. These findings highlight the central role of victim‐centered narratives and inform educational efforts to foster present‐day moral engagement.