„Die Neigung zur zwischenmenschlichen Opferrolle: Das Persönlichkeitskonstrukt und seine Folgen“

Eine interessante Studie, die gestern auch schon Thema bei Arne war und mir auch schon von einigen anderen zugeschickt worden war:

In the present research, we introduce a conceptualization of the Tendency for Interpersonal Victimhood (TIV), which we define as an enduring feeling that the self is a victim across different kinds of interpersonal relationships. Then, in a comprehensive set of eight studies, we develop a measure for this novel personality trait, TIV, and examine its correlates, as well as its affective, cognitive, and behavioral consequences. In Part 1 (Studies 1A-1C) we establish the construct of TIV, with its four dimensions; i.e., need for recognition, moral elitism, lack of empathy, and rumination, and then assess TIV’s internal consistency, stability over time, and its effect on the interpretation of ambiguous situations. In Part 2 (Studies 2A-2C) we examine TIV’s convergent and discriminant validities, using several personality dimensions, and the role of attachment styles as conceptual antecedents. In Part 3 (Studies 3–4) we explore the cognitive and behavioral consequences of TIV. Specifically, we examine the relationships between TIV, negative attribution and recall biases, and the desire for revenge (Study 3), and the effects of TIV on behavioral revenge (Study 4). The findings highlight the importance of understanding, conceptualizing, and empirically testing TIV, and suggest that victimhood is a stable and meaningful personality tendency.

Quelle: The tendency for interpersonal victimhood: The personality construct and its consequences
(Sci-hub-Link)

Mit Deepl übersetzt:

in der vorliegenden Untersuchung stellen wir eine Konzeptualisierung der Tendenz zur interpersonellen Opferrolle (TIV) vor, die wir als ein anhaltendes Gefühl definieren, dass das Selbst ein Opfer in verschiedenen Arten von zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen ist.

Das Leute sich als Opfer in allen möglichen Bereichen sehen ist nichts neues, es hat aber mit dem erstarken intersektionaler Theorien einen neuen Umfang erreicht, der diese Studie besonders interessant macht. 

Anschließend entwickeln wir in einem umfassenden Satz von acht Studien ein Maß für dieses neuartige Persönlichkeitsmerkmal, TIV, und untersuchen seine Korrelate sowie seine affektiven, kognitiven und verhaltensbezogenen Konsequenzen. In Teil 1 (Studien 1A-1C) etablieren wir das Konstrukt TIV mit seinen vier Dimensionen, d.h. Bedürfnis nach Anerkennung, moralischer Elitismus, Mangel an Empathie und Grübeln,

Also viel Dimensionen:

• Bedürfnis nach Anerkennung
• moralischer Elitismus
• Mangel an Empathie
• Grübeln/widerkäuen/sich immer wieder Gedanken machen

Dazu aus der Studie:

Need for recognition refers to victims‘ motivation to have their victimhood acknowledged and empathized with (Hameiri & Nadler, 2017; Twali et al., 2020). At one end of the spectrum, experiencing trauma undermines previous perceptions about the world as a just and moral place (Janoff-Bulman, 2010). Recognition of one’s victimhood helps reestablish victims‘ confidence in their perception of reality. However, at the other end, when in pain, almost each and every individual seeks acknowledgment of his or her suffering (Urlic, Berger, & Berman, 2010). This encompasses the victim’s need for the perpetrator to take responsibility and express feelings of guilt (Baumeister, Stillwell, & Heatherton, 1994), and to garner compassion and support from others (Noor, Shnabel, Halabi, & Nadler, 2012; Urlic et al., 2010). Similarly, victims of intergroup conflicts and mass atrocities manifest a need for recognition of their suffering, whether by the actual perpetrators or by the general public (for a review, see Twali et al., 2020).

Das ist eine verständliche Haltung eines Opfers. Es will seine Opferstellung bestätigt wissen, es will, dass der Täter Verantwortung übernimmt und sein Leiden anerkannt wird. 

Moral elitism refers to the perception of immaculate morality of the self and the immorality of the other side. Victimhood has been associated with a sense of differentiation and moral superiority (Leahy, 2012). At the individual level, moral elitism may be used to control others by accusing them of immoral, unfair or selfish behavior, while seeing oneself as highly moral and ethical (Urlic et al., 2010), possibly as a defense mechanism against painful emotions (Berman, 2014a). Similarly, collective victimhood is based on beliefs about the justness of one’s group’s goals and positive image, while emphasizing the wickedness of the opponent’s goals and characteristics (Bar-Tal, ChernyakHai, Schori, & Gundar, 2009).

„Moralischer Elitismus“ ist ein netter Begriff. Man selbst ist gut, die anderen sind schlecht. Es passt gut in das innerhalb der Kategorien binäre der intersektionalen

Lack of empathy refers to an oblivious reaction to others in general and to their suffering in particular. Clinical psychological thinking has argued that victimhood at the individual level is comprised of a preoccupation with one’s own suffering, and decreased attention and concern about others (Urlic et al., 2010). Empirically, victimhood was found to increase the sense of entitlement to behave aggressively and selfishly (Zitek, Jordan, Monin, & Leach, 2010). Similarly, groups that engage in competitive victimhood tend to see their victimization as exclusive, thus minimizing or outright denying their adversary’s suffering (Noor et al., 2012). Empirically, collective victimhood was found to be associated with entitlement to behave aggressively (Schori-Eyal, Klar, Roccas, & McNeill, 2017), and that priming individuals with their group’s suffering resulted in reduced empathy toward those responsible for the state of victimhood (Čehajić, Brown, & Castano, 2008) and toward unrelated adversaries (Wohl & Branscombe, 2008).

Das ist aus mehreren Gründen interessant: Einmal passt es natürlich wie die Faust aufs Auge zu den Abwertungen von Männern und den Verhöhnungen von Schwierigkeiten, die Männer haben („Male Tears“). Zum anderen zeigt es die Gefahr, die eigene Opferstellung als exklusiv zu sehen und macht damit gleichzeitig deutlich, warum die intersektionalen Theorien als „Umfassende Opfertheorien“ so erfolgreich sind: 

Sie erlauben ein Nebeneinander von Opferstellungen, aber auf eine Weise, die jede Opferstellung intact lassen. Feministinnen können nach wie vor als Frauen ihre volle Opferstellung auskosten und Männern alles absprechen. Sie müssen nur die Opferstellung von Schwarzen, Transsexuellen etc ebenfalls akzeptieren, haben es aber geschafft, dass man dafür zwar zB Weiße und CIS-Personen verantwortlich macht, noch lieber aber die Bündelung aller: Den weißen CIS-Mann als Kombination aller „Tätergruppen“. Das erlaubt es der weißen Frau sich im wesentlichen aus der Schußlinie zu nehmen, auch wenn ihr immer noch eine Mitschuld als Weiße vorgeworfen wird. Sie verdient dennoch als Frau Empathie, wenn auch nicht als weiße Frau.

Finally, Rumination refers to a focus of attention on the symptoms of one’s distress, and its possible causes and consequences rather than its possible solutions (Nolen-Hoeksema, Wisco, & Lyubomirsky, 2008). Victims tend to ruminate over interpersonal offenses (McCullough et al., 1998), which perpetuates psychological distress long after the experience of interpersonal stressors has ended (Greenberg, 1995) and promotes aggression (Collins & Bell, 1997). Furthermore, the extent to which individuals ruminate has generally been conceptualized as a dispositional trait (Collins & Bell, 1997). Similarly, victimized groups ruminate over their traumatic events. For example, many Jewish-Israelis report that they are preoccupied with the Holocaust and fear that it will happen again, though most of them were not direct victims. However, this was not always the case, since in the early years after the Holocaust, although the survivors were suffering from severe posttrauma, the Holocaust was not prominent in Israeli discourse and was even considered, to some extent, contradictory to the Israeli identity. Israeli society only adopted a victimhood identity in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Holocaust became prominent in the Israeli narrative (Klar, Schori-Eyal, & Klar, 2013; Urlic et al., 2010) partially as a result of the Eichmann trial, where victims spoke out during the televised proceedings.

Das wäre also eine Art Widerkäuen der Opferstellung und der Benachteiligung, ein beständiges Durchdenken, wie sehr man benachteiligt ist und wie sehr man Opfer ist statt eines Durchdenkens, wie man aus diesem Status herauskommt.

Also im Feminismus der Umstand, dass es einen Gender Pay Gap gibt, dass es das Patriarchat gibt, dass Männer alle privilegiert sind statt des Gedankens, dass Frauen dann eine andere Life Work Balance finden müssen, ihre Partnerwahl umstellen könnten, dass sie Männerberufe wählen können oder auch nur der Umstand, dass sie vielleicht im Schnitt weniger verdienen, aber dafür eben in anderen Bereichen (Familie, Work-Life-Balance) Vorteile haben. 

Kombiniert man das alles, dann führt das immer wieder die Opferstellung durchdenken zusammen damit, dass man als Opfer erkannt werden möchte und der Täter einen entschädigen und sein Unrecht zugeben soll, verbunden mit immer weniger Empathie für die „Tätergruppe“ und dem Überbewerten der eigenen Moral schnell zu einem „Race to the Bottom“. 

Aus der Studie:

Die Fragen dort sind interessant:

Need for recognition

• It is important to me that people who hurt me acknowledge that an injustice has been done to me
• It is important to me that the person who offended me admits that his or her behavior was wrong
• It makes me angry when people don’t believe that I was hurt
• It is important to me to receive an apology from people who offended me
• It is important to me that the person who offended me feels guilty for what he or she did
• I feel angry when people ignore my feeling of being hurt 

Moral elitism

• I remain considerate of other people even when they don’t deserve it
• I think I am much more conscientious and moral in my relations with other people compared to their treatment of me
• People often take advantage of my kindness 
• I give others much more than I receive from them
• I feel that other people don’t hesitate to take advantage of my weaknesses.
• People demand a lot of me without expressing gratitude 

Lack of empathy

• When people who are close to me feel hurt by my actions, it is very important for me to clarify that justice is on my side
• People who are offended by me are only thinking of themselves
• People who claim that I behaved wrongly want me to admit it so they can take advantage of the situation
• People claim that I have hurt them because they cannot see that they are the ones hurting me
• The main reason that people are offended by me is that they cannot see things from my perspective
•  It is very important to me that people who were offended by me realize that they are also in the wrong

Rumination

• It is very hard for me to stop thinking about the injustice others have done to me
• Days after the offense I am very preoccupied by the injustice done to me
• I am flooded by more anger than I would like every time I remember people who hurt me
• I am flooded by negative feelings every time I remember people who hurt me 

Es wäre interessant danach mal intersektionale Texte und Theorien durchzugehen. Es wäre wahrscheinlich auch ein guter Leitfaden zum Schreiben feministischer Texte. 

Aus der Studie:

TIV was found to be associated more strongly with a desire for revenge than with a desire for avoidance, which is consistent with the notion that rumination and righteous indignation enhance the motivation for revenge (McCullough et al., 1998). TIV was also found to predict entitlement to engage in immoral behavior. That is, although people with TIV see themselves as morally superior to others, they feel they deserve to hurt others when they feel victimized. The fact that TIV predicted entitlement better than other personality tendencies attests to the predictive validity of the scale

Auch das passt ja sehr gut. Natürlich nicht nur zum Feminismus, es passt auch etwa zu verbitterten „Incels“, die sich in einer ungerechten Opferstellung sehen und sich darin vergraben und auf Rache sinnen und meinen, dass sie deswegen Frauen abwerten können. 
Oder auch zu „radikalen Männerrechtlern“ die meinen, dass alle Frauen schlecht sind und sie deswegen meinen beleidigen zu können etc.

Inbesondere die Zuweisung von negativen Eigenschaften zu anderen scheint damit das Bedürfnis nach Rache zu steigern. 

Aus der Diskussion am Ende:

The current studies strongly suggest that the tendency for victimhood in interpersonal relations is a stable personality characteristic. Deeply rooted in the relations with primary caregivers, this tendency affects how individuals feel, think, and behave in what they perceive as hurtful situations throughout their lives. The findings contribute both theoretically and empirically to the exploration of victimhood in interpersonal relations. Theoretically, we showed the robustness of TIV based on an integration of the social and clinical psychological literature. Empirically, the findings validated TIV through an exploration of its cognitive, emotional, and behavioral consequences, as well as the role of attachment style as a conceptual antecedent.
The results of the eight studies confirmed our conceptualization of TIV and the psychometric properties of its scale. EFAs and a CFA (Studies 1A-1B) indicated that the TIV scale is best conceptualized as a hierarchical model with four method factors, representing the four dimensions of TIV; i.e., the need for recognition, moral elitism, lack of empathy, and rumination, and one latent factor. Study 1C documented the scale’s good test-retest reliability. The scale also exhibited good convergence validity, as it showed that high-TIV individuals experienced feelings of hurt more intensely, and for longer periods of time (Study 2A). Moreover, we showed the scale’s adequate construct validity, since it was positively correlated with rejection sensitivity, victim sensitivity, private and public consciousness (Study 2B), exaggerated entitlement in romantic relations, lack of trust, ruminationdepression, and was unrelated to the Big Five personality dimensions, except neuroticism (Study 2C).
In addition to being psychometrically sound, the TIV scale exhibited satisfactory predictive validity with regard to cognitive, affective, and behavioral phenomena. Cognitively, high-TIV individuals were more likely to expect that others would hurt them in ambiguous situations (Study 1C), perceive offenses as more severe (study 2A), and attribute more malicious intent and negative characteristics to the offender (Study 3). Emotionally, high-TIV individuals were more likely to experience feelings of hurt more intensely, and for longer periods of time (Studies 2A and 4), and recall negative emotions more easily (Study 3). Across studies, TIV predicted various negative cognitive and emotional outcomes, but was unrelated to positive interpretations, attributions, or recall of positive emotional words. Thus, negative, but not positive stimuli, appear to activate the victimhood schema. Behaviorally, high-TIV individuals were less willing to forgive others after an offense, and more likely to seek revenge rather than avoidance (Studies 2B and 3) and behave in a revengeful manner (Study
4). We argue that one possible explanation for the low avoidant tendencies of high-TIV individuals stems from their need for recognition.
Behaviorally, this might be expressed by being ambivalent with regard to whether to maintain contact with their offenders and receive recognition of their victim status, or to completely avoid them. The fact that TIV was associated with anxious attachment, which is characterized by ambivalent relationships with others, but not with avoidant attachment, lends credence to our argument. Furthermore, the cognitive and affective implications of TIV seem to underlie its behavioral outcomes. The desire for revenge was mediated by negative attributions to the offender (Study 3) and by negative emotions and entitlement to immoral behavior (Study 4). The clinical literature on victimhood (Urlic et al., 2010) may explain how moral elitism, lack of empathy and the desire for revenge can manifest simultaneously among high-TIV individuals, and thus enable them to feel morally superior even though they exhibit aggression. According to this literature, victimhood is strongly dissociated from agency, and therefore decreases individuals‘ belief that they can deal with difficulties in their interpersonal relations. Victimhood is also dissociated from aggressiveness, because any resemblance between the victim and the perpetrator is experienced as threatening, as it may deny the victim potential compensation, closeness and empathy from others.

Finally, we found that anxious (but not avoidant) attachment was correlated with TIV, and thus may serve as a conceptual antecedent (Study 2B). From a motivational point of view, TIV seems to offer anxiously attached individuals an effective framework for their insecure relations that involve gaining others‘ attention, recognition, and compassion, and at the same time experiencing and expressing negative feelings. These findings correspond to previous theoretical accounts and empirical evidence that argue that attachment plays a significant role in individual differences after experiencing trauma and victimization (Arikan, Stopa, Carnelley, & Karl, 2016). However, it should be noted that while attachment was found to be associated with different psychological responses to trauma, including victimhood, exposure to severe trauma can affect the psychological response irrespective of individual attachment style (Pearlman & Courtois, 2005). The relationships between trauma, attachment, and TIV await further examination in future research. Relatedly, the need for recognition of high-TIV individuals may also be used for constructive relationship building. Unlike avoidance, it fosters and provides opportunities for contact, communication, and change (Twali et al., 2020). However, such opportunities for contact should be approached with due caution, as clinical psychological accounts suggest that recognition of suffering by itself is often not enough to promote change and might in fact only strengthen high-TIV individuals‘ claims of victimhood and sense of entitlement (Berman, 2014b).

Im ganzen eine sehr spannende Studie, die es vielleicht erlaubt, eine typische Opferhaltung eher aufzuschlüsseln. 

Der Bericht bei Reason ist auch interessant:

The study distinguishes TIV from narcissism. Narcissistic individuals also experience moral superiority and vengeful desires, but these feelings tend to spring from the belief that their authority, capability, or grandiosity is being undermined. TIV, on the other hand, is associated with low self-esteem. And while narcissists do not want to be victimized, high-TIV individuals lash out when their victimhood is questioned.

„The self-presentation of high-TIV individuals is that of a weak victim, who has been hurt and is therefore in need of protection,“ write the authors. „Threats to high-TIV individuals are related to anything that can undermine their self-image of moral superiority; or elicit doubts from their environment as to whether the offense occurred, the intensity of the offense, or their exclusivity as victims.“

Narzissten wehren also Angriffe auf ihre Autorität ab, TIV-Personen eher Angriffe auf ihre Stellung als (exklusives) Opfer und ihre moralische Überlegenheit.

Könnte vielleicht auch erklären, warum (auch wenn ich hierzu keine tatsächliche Statistik habe) Depressionen und psychische Erkrankungen bei Feministinnen häufiger vorzuliegen scheinen als sonst. Es ist eben häufig keine Position der Stärke, sondern ein Festklammern daran, dass andere Schuld sind und ein Beharren im Opferstatus.