“I don't really want to be associated with the self-righteous left extreme”: Disincentives to participation in collective action
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Stuart, Avelie
Thomas, Emma F.
Donaghue, Ngaire
Abstract / Description
This paper considers collective action non-participation by people sympathetic but not committed to participating in actions for social change (‘sympathisers’). We conducted a thematic analysis of open-ended written accounts of the barriers to participating in sustained collective action (N = 112), finding that people can be reluctant to engage in some types of collective action. Participants wrote about the potential for detrimental consequences resulting from association with ‘protesters’, concern that they may be undermined by ‘extreme’ fringes of a movement, ambivalence about the visible performance of group normative behaviours (specifically, protesting), and trepidation about ‘loss of self’ within a group. We discuss the findings in relation to theory on social (dis)identification, social (dis)incentives, and identity performances, arguing that inaction does not necessarily stem from apathy. Rather, people may engage in motivated inaction – that is, active avoidance of some types of actions, or from affiliations with particular groups, as a response to negative inferences about the legitimacy or efficacy of some forms of collective action. Practical strategies are suggested for groups and individuals, including the potential for people to take actions for social change independently of a formally organised movement.
Keyword(s)
collective action inaction social incentives social identity identity performance autonomy participative efficacy protest activist stigmaPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2018-06-28
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
6
Issue
1
Page numbers
242–270
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Stuart, A., Thomas, E. F., & Donaghue, N. (2018). “I don't really want to be associated with the self-righteous left extreme”: Disincentives to participation in collective action. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 6(1), 242–270. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v6i1.567
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Stuart, Avelie
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Thomas, Emma F.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Donaghue, Ngaire
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-26T12:45:25Z
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Made available on2018-11-26T12:45:25Z
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Date of first publication2018-06-28
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Abstract / DescriptionThis paper considers collective action non-participation by people sympathetic but not committed to participating in actions for social change (‘sympathisers’). We conducted a thematic analysis of open-ended written accounts of the barriers to participating in sustained collective action (N = 112), finding that people can be reluctant to engage in some types of collective action. Participants wrote about the potential for detrimental consequences resulting from association with ‘protesters’, concern that they may be undermined by ‘extreme’ fringes of a movement, ambivalence about the visible performance of group normative behaviours (specifically, protesting), and trepidation about ‘loss of self’ within a group. We discuss the findings in relation to theory on social (dis)identification, social (dis)incentives, and identity performances, arguing that inaction does not necessarily stem from apathy. Rather, people may engage in motivated inaction – that is, active avoidance of some types of actions, or from affiliations with particular groups, as a response to negative inferences about the legitimacy or efficacy of some forms of collective action. Practical strategies are suggested for groups and individuals, including the potential for people to take actions for social change independently of a formally organised movement.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationStuart, A., Thomas, E. F., & Donaghue, N. (2018). “I don't really want to be associated with the self-righteous left extreme”: Disincentives to participation in collective action. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 6(1), 242–270. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v6i1.567en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1457
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1790
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v6i1.567
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Keyword(s)collective actionen_US
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Keyword(s)inactionen_US
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Keyword(s)social incentivesen_US
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Keyword(s)social identityen_US
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Keyword(s)identity performanceen_US
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Keyword(s)autonomyen_US
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Keyword(s)participative efficacyen_US
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Keyword(s)protesten_US
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Keyword(s)activist stigmaen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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Title“I don't really want to be associated with the self-righteous left extreme”: Disincentives to participation in collective actionen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers242–270
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Volume6
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record