Collective Action Flashcards
Collective Action?
“A group member engages in collective action anytime that he or she is acting as a representative of the group and the action is directed at improving the condition of the entire group.” (Wright, Taylor, & Moghaddam, 1990) “Collective action is traditionally defined as any action that aims to improve the status, power, or influence of an entire group, rather than that of one or a few individuals” (van Zomeren & Iyer, 2009). -> an individual can engage in collective action alone. People can engage in collective action to defend other groups -> solidarity-based collective action, allyship.
Collective action may seek to -> attenuate an existing hierarchy (human rights group) -> defend or enhance an existing hierarchy or create a new hierarchy. (e.g. right-wing groups).
What are grievances
People generally take collective action to oppose an injustice against a group blamed on an outgroup. Greater perceived injustice against one’s group is associated with greater engagement in collective action (meta-analysis by van Zomeren et al., 2008 shows correlational and causal links, 65 independent samples, N=15,855) Grievances are at the heart of both nonviolent and violent collective action -> Grievances can be of different types: social, economic, political, environmental grievances. (van Stekelenburg & Klandermans, 2013).
Relative deprivation theory
awareness of shared grievances, egoistic vs fraternal deprivation (or group deprivation) -> what matters is people’s subjective relative sense of deprivation (relative) rather than their objective deprivation. Relative deprivation rests on social comparison -> Group members experience deprivation depending on their reference point -> Deprivation can result from comparison with: an outgroup, the ingroup’s past situation, a desired situation for the ingroup.
Efficacy
Group efficacy: the belief that it is possible to address grievances through collective action. Meta-analysis by van Zomeren et al. (2008) shows that efficacy perceptions positively predict collective action (correlational and causal links, using 53 independent samples, N = 12,758).
Social identity
Social Identity approach: individuals take collective action on behalf of groups their care about and identify with. (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) -> Social identification: “that part of an individual’s selfconcept which derives from his [sic] knowledge of membership of a social group (or groups) together with the emotional significance attached to that membership” (Tajfel, 1981, p.251). Social identification: “that part of an individual’s self-concept, which derives from his [sic] knowledge of membership of a social group (or groups) together with the emotional significance attached to that membership” -> Direct positive effects of social identification with a disadvantaged group or social movement on collective action (meta-analysis by van Zomeren et al., 2008 shows correlational and causal links, using 64 independent samples, N= 10,051).
Collective action
perceived injustice, perceived efficacy, identification
Integrative models of collective action
Social identity has both direct and indirect effects on collective action Indirect effects: - identification with one’s group is linked to stronger feelings of injustice against one’s group, which leads to greater collective action engagement - Identification with one’s group is linked to a stronger sense of efficacy to achieve the desired social change for the group, which leads to greater collective action engagement.
Emotions
Affective reactions to injustice are more powerful predictors than perceptions of injustice or relative deprivation (see meta-analyses by van Zomeren et al., 2008; Smith et al., 2012) -> Anger is a prototypical emotion associated with collective action. Different emotions can predict different types of collective action -> Group-based anger toward the outgroup is positively associated with nonviolent forms of collective action (e.g. Tausch et al., 2011) -> Violent collective action: emotions other than anger may be at play: Contempt (Tausch et al., 2011). – in motivating collective action (e.g. anger, contempt, pride, sympathy, guilt) – in inhibiting collective action (e.g. fear).
Identity
Which types of identity are important for motivating collective action? -> Politicized identification: identification with a social movement (Simon & Klandermans, 2001) is a more proximal predictor of collective action than identification with the disadvantaged group: – It specifies the target that we should move against – It creates an inner obligation to act in line with what the group stands for. – It can also be more inclusive of people who belong to powerful or third-party groups. (see van Stekelenburg & Klandermans, 2013). Meta-analysis by van Zomeren et al. (2008) shows politicized identification is a stronger predictor of collective action than identification with the disadvantaged group.
The dual pathway model of collective action
Sturmer and Simon, 2004 -> Two pathways to collective action -> Identity pathway (intrinsic motivation) -> Instrumental pathway (cost-benefit calculations extrinsic motivation) a) Collective motive b) Social motive c) Reward motive.
* Identity Pathway -> The social identity approach (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), Politicized identification as the main proximal predictor of collective action.
* Instrumental Pathway -> The model is built on -> the expectancy-value theory -> it states behaviour results from the value of the expected outcomes of that behaviour.
Collective motive
Value of the collective benefits the movement seeks to acquire (e.g. equal pay, anti-discrimination law, policy change) -> Expected achievement of the collective benefits through collective action.
Social motive
Collective action does not happen in a social vacuum. -> Collective action happens within social networks (e.g. family, friends, co-workers). The more connected an individual is to others -> who encourage protesting (expectancy) -> Whom they care about (value) the more likely they are to take part in collective action. Also called the normative motive (norms surrounding participation).
Reward Motive
Personal outcomes affect whether people take part in collective action: Individuals are more motivated to engage if they expect important personal benefits from engagement: – e.g. social contact (fun with friends). Personal outcomes affect whether people take part in collective action: Individuals are less motivated to engage if they expect important personal costs/losses from engagement: – e.g. risks from repression (e.g. losing one’s job, risk to safety, arrests, injuries, killings) or other risks (e.g. risk to health while protesting during the pandemic).
what is instrumental pathway built on
Collective action theory: developed by Olsen 1960s -> collective benefits of social movement participation are insufficient because people may free-ride, so they need selective benefits for participation. They don’t feel bothered if other people are going to take collective action (incentives) (e.g. Olson, 1968).
