scholarly journals Protesting to protect “us” and/or “them”? Explaining why members of third groups are willing to engage in collective action

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liga Klavina ◽  
Martijn van Zomeren
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Group Identification ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Police Brutality ◽  
Gas Extraction ◽  
Latino Americans ◽  
Group Members

In three studies we test whether three key predictors of collective action (i.e., group identification, anger, and efficacy) also predict whether and how members of third groups are willing to undertake collective action. Little is known about this, particularly about whether and how third-group members may engage in collective action to protect their own group and/or to protect an outgroup in need. In three studies that employed different three-group contexts, we found that the three predictors contributed to third-group members’ collective action intentions aimed at protecting the ingroup as well as those aimed at protecting the outgroup. Study 1 found this among Latvians ( N = 89) in response to the Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory; Study 2 found this among residents of a Dutch village ( N = 98) located nearby a gas-extraction-related earthquake region, in response to authorities’ inadequate protection of the residents of that region; and Study 3 found this among Latino Americans ( N = 278) in response to police brutality against Black Americans. Moving beyond replication and application of previous work, our set of studies show first evidence for ingroup and outgroup protection as motives of third-group members’ collective action. We discuss the implications of our findings for the broader social psychology of collective action literature.

scholarly journals Determining our Destiny: Do Restrictions to Collective Autonomy Fuel Collective Action?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Kachanoff ◽  
Nour Kteily ◽  
Thomas Khullar ◽  
Hyun Joon Park ◽  
Donald Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Group Identification ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
System Justification ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Group Agency ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
The Social ◽  
Power Group ◽  
Group Members

Groups experience collective autonomy restriction whenever they perceive that other groups attempt to limit the freedom of their group to determine and express its own identity. We argue that collective autonomy restriction motivates groups (both structurally advantaged and disadvantaged) to improve their power position within the social hierarchy. Four studies spanning real-world (Studies 1 and 2) and lab-based (Studies 3 and 4) intergroup contexts supported these ideas. In Study 1 (N=311), Black Americans’ (a relatively disadvantaged group) experience of collective autonomy restriction was associated with greater support for collective action, and less system justification. In Study 2, we replicated these findings with another sample of Black Americans (N=292). We also found that collective autonomy restriction was positively associated with White Americans’ (a relatively advantaged group, N=294) support for collective action and ideologies that bolster White’s dominant position. In Study 3 (N=387, 97 groups), groups that were susceptible to being controlled by a high-power group (i.e., were of low structural power) desired group power more when their collective autonomy was restricted (versus supported). In Study 4 (N=803, 257 groups) experiencing collective autonomy restriction (versus support) increased low-power group members’ support of collective action, decreased system justification, and evoked hostile emotions, both when groups were and were not materially exploited (by being tasked with more than their fair share of work). Across studies, we differentiate collective autonomy restriction from structural group power, other forms of injustice, group agency, and group identification. These findings indicate that collective autonomy restriction uniquely motivates collective behavior.

scholarly journals Whites for racial justice: How contact with Black Americans predicts support for collective action among White Americans

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 893-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hema Preya Selvanathan ◽  
Pirathat Techakesari ◽  
Linda R. Tropp ◽  
Fiona Kate Barlow
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Group Efficacy ◽  
Total N ◽  
Group Members ◽  
White Guilt

Advantaged group members have an important role to play in creating social change, and intergroup contact has tremendous implications in shaping intergroup relations. However, little research has examined how intergroup contact predicts advantaged group members’ inclinations toward collective action to support the interests of disadvantaged groups. The present research investigates how contact with Black Americans shapes White Americans’ willingness to engage in collective action for racial justice and support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Three studies of White Americans (total N = 821) consistently reveal that positive contact with Black Americans predicts greater support for collective action through a sequential process of fostering greater feelings of empathy for Black Americans and anger over injustice. These findings hold even when taking into account other relevant psychological factors (i.e., White guilt and identification, negative contact, group efficacy, and moral convictions). The present research contributes to our understanding of how advantaged group members come to engage in social change efforts.

scholarly journals Standing up for Whom? Targets’ Different Goals in the Confrontation of Discrimination

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Katrin Munder ◽  
Julia C. Becker ◽  
Oliver Christ
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Group Identification ◽  
Prejudice Reduction ◽  
Psychological Processes ◽  
Standing Up ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Individual

We challenge the common interpretation of targets’ immediate confrontation in reaction todiscrimination as self-serving behavior and propose different underlying motivations for this phenomenon. In five online scenario studies (Noverall = 1,447), we demonstrate across different samples and contexts that targets indicate a distinct pursuit of the following self-reported confrontation goals: individual-benefit (e.g., perpetrator apologizes); group-benefit (e.g., prejudice reduction); and distancing (e.g., demonstrating that one is different from typical group members). Furthermore, meaningful associations of the pursuits of individual-benefitting goals and group- benefitting goals with group identification, disidentification, and further collective action intentions indicate that they represent different confrontation motivations: Individual-benefitting confrontation serves to cope with the individual mistreatment of discrimination, whereas group- benefitting confrontation represents a form of collective action. Distancing goals were associated with disidentification and—unexpectedly—group identification. Our results show that the phenomenon of confrontation in reaction to discrimination can be the result of different underlying psychological processes.

scholarly journals Intergroup Contact and Social Change

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Karl Reimer ◽  
Julia C. Becker ◽  
Angelika Benz ◽  
Oliver Christ ◽  
Kristof Dhont ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Perceived Discrimination ◽  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
Group Identification ◽  
Transgender Students ◽  
Lgbt Activism ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Positive Contact

Previous research has shown that (a) positive intergroup contact with an advantaged group can discourage collective action among disadvantaged-group members and (b) positive intergroup contact can encourage advantaged-group members to take action on behalf of disadvantaged outgroups. Two studies investigated the effects of negative as well as positive intergroup contact. Study 1 ( n = 482) found that negative but not positive contact with heterosexual people was associated with sexual-minority students’ engagement in collective action (via group identification and perceived discrimination). Among heterosexual students, positive and negative contacts were associated with, respectively, more and less LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) activism. Study 2 ( N = 1,469) found that only negative contact (via perceived discrimination) predicted LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) students’ collective action intentions longitudinally while only positive contact predicted heterosexual/cisgender students’ LGBT activism. Implications for the relationship between intergroup contact, collective action, and social change are discussed.

scholarly journals Disadvantaged group members’ evaluations and support for allies: Investigating the role of communication style and group membership

2021 ◽  
pp. 136843022110109
Author(s):  
Helena R. M. Radke ◽  
Maja Kutlaca ◽  
Julia C. Becker
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Communication Style ◽  
Disadvantaged Group ◽  
Group Members

Limited research has examined disadvantaged group members’ evaluations and support for allies who engage in collective action on their behalf. Across two studies (Study 1 N = 264 women; Study 2 N = 347 Black Americans) we manipulated an ally’s communication style and group membership to investigate whether these factors play a role in how allies are perceived and received. We found that participants evaluated allies less positively and were less willing to support them when they communicated their support in a dominant compared to a neutral way. Heightened perceptions that the ally was trying to take over the movement and make themselves the center of attention explained these results. However, we found no effect of whether the ally belonged to another disadvantaged group or not. Our findings contribute to the growing literature which seeks to understand the complexities associated with involving allies in collective action.

scholarly journals Intergroup contact and social change: Implications of negative and positive contact for collective action in advantaged and disadvantaged groups

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Karl Reimer ◽  
Julia C. Becker ◽  
Angelika Benz ◽  
Oliver Christ ◽  
Kristof Dhont ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Perceived Discrimination ◽  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
Group Identification ◽  
Lgbt Students ◽  
Lgbt Activism ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Positive Contact ◽  
The Relationship

Previous research has shown that (1) positive intergroup contact with an advantaged group can discourage collective action among disadvantaged-group members and (2) positive intergroup contact can encourage advantaged-group members to take action on behalf of disadvantaged outgroups. Two studies investigated the effects of negative as well as positive intergroup contact. Study 1 (N = 482) found that negative but not positive contact with heterosexual people was associated with sexual-minority students’ engagement in collective action (via group identification and perceived discrimination). Among heterosexual students, positive and negative contact were associated with, respectively, more and less LGB activism. Study 2 (N = 1,469) found that only negative contact (via perceived discrimination) predicted LGBT students’ collective action intentions longitudinally while only positive contact predicted heterosexual/cisgender students’ LGBT activism. Implications for the relationship between intergroup contact, collective action, and social change are discussed.

Referencing Race = Racist? Examining Perceptions of References to a Target’s Race as Offensive

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-481
Author(s):  
Conor J. O’Dea ◽  
Bayleigh N. Smith ◽  
Donald A. Saucier
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Important Implication ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Total N ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Majority Group ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Linguistic Functions

We examined majority group members’ perceptions of racial slurs, compared to what we have labeled as combination terms. These combination terms possess the same semantic and pragmatic linguistic functions as racial slurs, functioning to express negative emotion toward, and to describe, a target. Across three studies (total N = 943) racial slurs were not perceived as significantly different from combination terms. We then examined whether participants higher in social dominance beliefs reported greater perceived justification for using combination terms over racial slurs because of their lack of historical denigration of marginalized groups that racial slurs have. Participants, even those higher in socially dominant attitudes, did not perceive greater justification for the use of combination terms than racial slurs. Indeed, an important implication is that race-marking, an understudied area of social psychology, paired with general derogative terms produces terms which may function similarly to racial slurs, but, fortunately, are also similarly vilified in modern society.

The Social Psychology of Leadership

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Platow ◽  
S. Alexander Haslam ◽  
Stephen D. Reicher
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Transactional Leadership ◽  
Shared Beliefs ◽  
Personality Research ◽  
Identity Group ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Contextual Variability ◽  
Insight Into

Leadership is the process of influencing others in a manner that enhances their contribution to the realization of group goals. We demonstrate how social influence emerges from psychological in-group members, particularly highly in-group prototypical ones. Through leader fairness, respect, and other rhetorical behaviors, leaders become entrepreneurs of identity, creating a shared sense of “us.” Personality research reveals contextual variability in correlations with leadership outcomes, suggesting that situational parameters exert their own influence over the influence of would-be leaders. Successful transactional leadership is predicated upon a shared social identity, and transformational leadership can help create that identity. Group members have shared beliefs about what makes a leader, with these beliefs themselves fluctuating with changes in the group and intergroup context. Approaching the analysis of leadership from a psychological group perspective allows us to understand leadership literature as an integrated oeuvre that provides insight into leadership’s foundation.

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