Collective action

Question 1

What is social change?

Answer 1

Transformation of the institutions and culture of society.
Rupture in the equilibrium of social structures

Question 2

What are the 2 main psychological models of social change?

Answer 2

Prejudice reduction and collective action

Question 3

What does a prejudice reduction approach assume and aim to do?

Answer 3

Assumes that negative attitudes are at the heart of intergroup inequality
Aims at improving the attitudes of the advantaged

Question 4

What is social justice inextricably (impossible to disentangle) tied to?

Answer 4

Strengthening intergroup harmony

Positive effects on members of the advantaged group

Question 5

What is collective action?

Answer 5

Strengthening social movements by the disadvantaged

Question 6

What are prejudice reduction and collective action both influenced by?

Answer 6

Social Identity Theory

Question 7

What are 5 characteristics of prejudice reduction?

Answer 7

• Low salience of category membership
• Weak collective identification
• Perceive group boundaries to be permeable
• Generally positive chatacterisations of outgroup

Question 8

What is collective action?

Answer 8

• High salience of category membership
• Strong collective identification
• High salience of group-based inequality
• Perceive group boundaries to be impermeable
• Generally negative characterisations of outgroup

Question 9

What does social identity theory explain intergroup relations as a function of?

Answer 9

Group-based self-definitions

Question 10

According to social identity theory, what do individuals define their own identities regarding?

Answer 10

Social groups - these identifications work to protect and bolster self-identity

Question 11

How does social identity relate to places in society?

Answer 11

• we occupy many different places (eg. student, friend, partner)
• Some of these places are exclusive and only occupied by a small number of people, some are mutually exclusive (employed vs unemployed), some are inclusive, encompassing large numbers of people, some are nested (eg. italian and/or cross-cutting (men and teacher)

Question 12

What is the difference between personal identity and social identity on the interpersonal-intergroup continuum?

Answer 12

2 extremes by which behaviour can be defined
Personal identity is characteristics that define us as individuals as distinct from other individuals whereas social identity is the part of our self-concept corresponding to group memberships, and the value and emotional significance attached to those memberships.

In group situations, we shift from personal to social identity.

Question 13

What is the central principle of SIT?

Answer 13

People seek to maintain positive social identities

Question 14

How do members of social groups maintain or enhance their self-esteem?

Answer 14

Base their comparisons on relevant outgroups with which they can make a favourable comparison on behalf of the ingroup.
Social categorisation -> social identification -> social comparison

Question 15

What are 3 strategies to avoid negative social identities?

Answer 15

1. individual mobility (leaving the group)
2. Social creativity (changing comparison)
3. Social conflict (engaging in collective action)

Each type of strategy used is dependent on external factors

Question 16

What is individual mobility?

Answer 16

Individual behaviour aimed at achieving a more positive situation for oneself - not for the group

Boundaries are perceived as permeable and there is the possibility for upward change in social status of individual

Question 17

What is social creativity?

Answer 17

Group boundaries are perceived as impermeable, group relationships as legitimate and/or no cognitive alternatives can be envisaged.
- Selecting a new comparison dimension
- Engaging in downward comparison
- Re-evaluating a negative group attribute by changing in a positive way

Question 18

How does social conflict occur?

Answer 18

• Group boundaries are impermeable (individual mobility is impossible)
• Group relationships perceived as illegitimate and cognitive alternatives can be envisaged
• Social conflict as the struggle for agency and power in society
• Collective action is often the route used to contest and change the relationships between groups

Question 19

How does individual mobility affect intergroup relations?

Answer 19

It doesn’t - it is mainly about individual change

Question 20

How does social creativity affect intergroup relations?

Answer 20

It helps coping with social disadvantage, BUT group-based inequality is not actively challenged

Question 21

How does social conflict affect intergroup relations?

Answer 21

Directly attempts to change the group’s position in the social hierarchy

Question 22

What is the only strategy that may result in a change in the objective reality of group relations?

Answer 22

Collective action

Question 23

When do people engage in collective action?

Answer 23

Any time they are acting as a representative of the group and when the action is directed at improving the conditions of the group
- action undertaken as group members and to pursue group goals
- doesn’t have to be ‘your’ group - political solidarity also counts

Question 24

What are some forms of protests?

Answer 24

• demonstrations
• blockades
• strikes
• individual (petitions/voting or more radical eg. property damage/physical violence)
• non-violent collective action eg. strikes, demonstrations, sit-ins, petitions, boycotts
• Violent collective action - unorganised eg. riots or organised eg. militia or acts of terrorism

Question 25

What are 3 reasons for collective action?

Answer 25

1. injustice 2. efficacy 3. identity

Question 26

In what way is injustice a reason to engage in collective action?

Answer 26

Subjective sense of disadvantage, unjust treatment or violation of important moral standards leads to feelings of deprivation eg. anger, resentment, outrage) Emotional dimension- individual's perceptions of unfairness or experience of anger

Question 27

In what way is efficacy a reason to engage in collective action?

Answer 27

Pragmatic and instrumental elements increase willingness to engage in collective action (perceptions of efficacy) - multiple forms: agency, collective, individuall and parcipative

Question 28

In what way is identity an important factor to engaging in collective action?

Answer 28

Individuals' psychological ties with the relevant group - Importance of identification with aggrieved group Politicised identities - identification with movement

Question 29

How do the 2008 economic and political crisis and the anti-austerity movement in Spain show how well injustice predicts protest?

Answer 29

2008 economic and political crisis - led to new movements eg. Indignados and revitalised older ones eg. Catalonian movement for independence. Anti-austerity movement in Spain - Sabucedo et al. (2017) analysed manifestos and surveyed 919 ppts during mobilisations - ppts in demonstrations feel more unfairly treated than non-ppts

Question 30

What is group efficacy?

Answer 30

When people believe their group can achieve its goals through joint action, they experience the collective agency that is lacking when people merely feel hopeful

Question 31

How did Zomeren et al (2010) show how group efficacy influences collective action?

Answer 31

Experimental study manipulated students' group efficacy beliefs - group efficacy beliefs increased collective action intentions against raising tuition fees in the Netherlands by increasing identification with disadvantaged group by increasing collective action tendencies

Question 32

What did Sturmer and Simon (2004) study in relation to the role of identity processes?

Answer 32

Longitudinal study (n=199) the context of the German gay movement - members of largest formal organisation Results show clear support for role of collective identity processes above and beyond efficacy dimensions - stronger effect of identification with specific social movement organisation

Question 33

How has the Social Identity Model of Collective Action been applied to Iran's nature cleaners?

Answer 33

16 events, n=382 during 8-month period Goal was to test applicability of SIMCA - Key role of social identification as only significant direct predictor of collective action (Keshavarzi et al., 2021)

Question 34

How has the Social Identity Model of Collective Action been applied to climate collective action in Austria and Germany?

Answer 34

652 uni students in Austria and Germany Aimed to explain intention to participate in community-based environmental/collective initiatives. Social identity was core predictor of collective climate action across studies. Participative efficacy, individual efficacy was also a predictor. (Bamberg et al., 2015)

Question 35

How has the Social Identity Model of Collective Action been applied to Extinction Rebellion?

Answer 35

Survey of 203 current of potential XR activists 2 pathways: 1. feelings of moral outrage (perceived injustice, moral convictions, anger) 2. belief that one's individual actions could make a difference (participative efficacy) Both predicted collective action behaviour and future intentions through identification with XR. Identification with global humanity seemingly played a more distal role, predicting perceived injustice, moral convictions and participative efficacy (Furlong and Vignoles, 2021)

Question 36

What factor acted as an extension to Social Identity Model of Collective Action? (SIMCA)

Answer 36

Moral convictions - strong and absolute stances on moral issues. Moral beliefs that individuals perceive to have been violated

Question 37

What is a social identity approach to crowds?

Answer 37

Crowd behaviour is intergroup behaviour. Historically crowds are formed by those without institutional power. Crowd behaviour involves different groups who will behave according to different group norms (eg. protesters and police)

Question 38

How did new emergent identities influence the 2011 London riots?

Answer 38

Riots can be seen as the product of social identity processes. Longstanding intergroup tension between the community and police. Looting behaviour was not a product of emergent social identities - not identity loss, but identity change: individual identity -> social identity

Question 39

How does the elaborated social model explain dynamics of conflicts within crowd/collective events?

Answer 39

Identity change occurring within crowd events could also endure afterwards. Recognition of the role of empowerment as a cause and consequence of collective action