ABSTRACT This research replicated, refined and extended the Reconciliation Orientation Model (ROM). While the original ROM treated ingroup identity as unidimensional, we adopted a multidimensional model, distinguishing self‐investment and self‐definition, and examined their links to intergroup forgiveness. Data from four real‐life conflict settings – Israeli–Palestinian, Kosovar–Serbian, US racial and UK gender conflict ( N = 860) – showed good fit for the refined ROM. Competitive victimhood predicted lower outgroup forgiveness, mediated by both identity dimensions. Specifically, while competitive victimhood positively predicted both self‐investment and self‐definition, only self‐definition positively predicted forgiveness; self‐investment predicted it negatively. Importantly, self‐investment suppressed the positive association between self‐definition and forgiveness, highlighting the value of distinguishing these dimensions. Conflict type moderated these effects, with stronger associations in direct than in structural conflicts. Overall, the findings underscore the importance of a multidimensional identity framework and differentiating conflict types to advance understanding of intergroup reconciliation.
Dinnick et al. (Thu,) studied this question.