Collective Memory as Mediated action: Representations of Indian History

We apply a cultural psychological perspective and draw upon a situation-sampling method to examine how constructions of a national past serve as tools that reflect and shape national identity concerns. In a free-recall task, Study 1 participants (N=55) generated three historical events that they considered as important/relevant for Indian history. Majority of events generated reflected nation-glorifying themes celebrating in-group triumph, compared to themes focusing on social injustice and in-group wrongdoing (critical and silenced events). Study 2 (N=95) exposed the events generated (in S1) to a new sample of participants using a within-subjects design. Results indicated a similar nation-glorifying bias. National identification predicted this bias: participants who identified more strongly with being Indian were especially likely to remember (S1), and rate as more relevant and important (S2), nation-glorifying events, compared to nation-critical events. Studies 3 (N=65) and 4 (N=160) utilized a between-subjects design, and indicated that nation-critical events focusing on historical wrongdoing reduced national identification, and were more effective in promoting perception of injustice in present-day Indian society, compared to nation-glorifying events and a control condition. Particularly, Study 4 indicated that exposure to dominant group historical representations (i.e., Hindu-focused glorifying condition) led to lower perceptions of injustice compared to glorifying events focusing on independence from British colonization, control, and then critical condition. Together, results illuminate a conception of collective memory as mediated action. Discussion emphasizes the collective character of psychological experiences and its relevance to the study of injustice and oppression.