Article Version of Record

The politicized motivations of volunteers in the refugee crisis: Intergroup helping as the means to achieve social change

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Kende, Anna
Lantos, Nóra Anna
Belinszky, Anna
Csaba, Sára
Lukács, Zsófia Anna

Abstract / Description

The refugee crisis in the summer of 2015 mobilized thousands of volunteers in Hungary to help refugees on their journey through Europe despite the government’s hostile stance. We conducted a survey (N = 1459) among people who were active in supporting refugees and providing services to them to test the hypothesis of whether volunteers in the context of this humanitarian crisis had social change motivations similar to those engaged in direct political activism. Hierarchical regression analysis and mediation analysis revealed the importance of opinion-based identity and moral convictions as predictors of volunteerism, while efficacy beliefs and anger only predicted political activism. Our findings suggest that volunteers engaged in helping refugees based on motivations previously described as drivers of mobilization for political activism, but chose volunteerism to alleviate the problems embedded in the intergroup situation. Although the context of the refugee crisis in Hungary may have been somewhat unique, these findings have implications for other asymmetrical politicized intergroup relations in which advantaged group members can choose to offer humanitarian aid, engage in political actions to change the situation, or do both.

Keyword(s)

volunteerism social change political activism cross-group helping ally activism opinion-based identity moral convictions önkéntesség társadalmi változás politikai aktivizmus csoportközi segítségnyújtás többségi aktivizmus véleményalapú identitás morális meggyőződés

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2017-05-15

Journal title

Journal of Social and Political Psychology

Volume

5

Issue

1

Page numbers

260–281

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Kende, A., Lantos, N. A., Belinszky, A., Csaba, S., & Lukács, Z. A. (2017). The politicized motivations of volunteers in the refugee crisis: Intergroup helping as the means to achieve social change. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 5(1), 260–281. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.642
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Kende, Anna
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Lantos, Nóra Anna
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Belinszky, Anna
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Csaba, Sára
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Lukács, Zsófia Anna
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2018-11-26T12:44:50Z
  • Made available on
    2018-11-26T12:44:50Z
  • Date of first publication
    2017-05-15
  • Abstract / Description
    The refugee crisis in the summer of 2015 mobilized thousands of volunteers in Hungary to help refugees on their journey through Europe despite the government’s hostile stance. We conducted a survey (N = 1459) among people who were active in supporting refugees and providing services to them to test the hypothesis of whether volunteers in the context of this humanitarian crisis had social change motivations similar to those engaged in direct political activism. Hierarchical regression analysis and mediation analysis revealed the importance of opinion-based identity and moral convictions as predictors of volunteerism, while efficacy beliefs and anger only predicted political activism. Our findings suggest that volunteers engaged in helping refugees based on motivations previously described as drivers of mobilization for political activism, but chose volunteerism to alleviate the problems embedded in the intergroup situation. Although the context of the refugee crisis in Hungary may have been somewhat unique, these findings have implications for other asymmetrical politicized intergroup relations in which advantaged group members can choose to offer humanitarian aid, engage in political actions to change the situation, or do both.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Kende, A., Lantos, N. A., Belinszky, A., Csaba, S., & Lukács, Z. A. (2017). The politicized motivations of volunteers in the refugee crisis: Intergroup helping as the means to achieve social change. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 5(1), 260–281. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.642
    en_US
  • ISSN
    2195-3325
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1432
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1715
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.642
  • Keyword(s)
    volunteerism
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    social change
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    political activism
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    cross-group helping
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    ally activism
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    opinion-based identity
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    moral convictions
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    önkéntesség
    hr_HU
  • Keyword(s)
    társadalmi változás
    hr_HU
  • Keyword(s)
    politikai aktivizmus
    hr_HU
  • Keyword(s)
    csoportközi segítségnyújtás
    hr_HU
  • Keyword(s)
    többségi aktivizmus
    hr_HU
  • Keyword(s)
    véleményalapú identitás
    hr_HU
  • Keyword(s)
    morális meggyőződés
    hr_HU
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    The politicized motivations of volunteers in the refugee crisis: Intergroup helping as the means to achieve social change
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    1
  • Journal title
    Journal of Social and Political Psychology
  • Page numbers
    260–281
  • Volume
    5
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record