Week 11: Collective Action & Social Change

Question 1

What is collective action?

Answer 1

When people stand together in a group to achieve a common goal resulting in social change and improved conditions for the group in broader society.

Question 2

What is normative collectiev action?

Answer 2

Conventional actions that are within the norms of a society, such as signing petitions, street demonstrations, donations, or social media campaigns.

Question 3

What is non-normative collective action?

Answer 3

Radical actions that are outside the norms of society, falling beyond law and codes of conduct, such as violent protests, throwing stones, damaging public property, and unauthorized sit-ins.

Question 4

What is system-challenging collective action?

Answer 4

Actions that advocate for social change to help improve the conditions of structurally disadvantaged groups, usually against the status quo.

Question 5

What is system-stabilizing collective action?

Answer 5

Actions that support the status quo, is usually reactionary and going against social change movements. This can reinforce inequality, instead benefitting structurally advantaged groups.

Question 6

Why is collective action contentious performances?

Answer 6

Because they aim to disrupt everyday life and the status quo, using a wide repertoire of tactics to achieve their goals.

Question 7

What are the six predictors of collective actions?

Answer 7

• Perceived Injustices
• Emotions : Experiencing social environment as
  unfair.
• Group Based Anger (strongest predictor)
• Cost Benefit Analysis
• Collective Efficacy: Believing group will succeed
• Group Identification : Motivated to enhance
  their group interests

Question 8

What is the strongest type of group identification that encourages collective action?

Answer 8

Opinion Based groups, e.g., being a feminist is a bigger predictor then identifying as a woman

Question 9

According to the social identity model of collective action what two aspects of social identification lead to collective action?

Answer 9

• Perceptions of injustice
• Collective Efficacy

Question 10

What is the dynamic process of collective action?

Answer 10

Sense of injustice, group-based anger, and collective efficacy, which leads to …
Group identification, which leads to …
Collective action, which reinforces …

Question 11

What does collective action do for participants in regards to social groups?

Answer 11

It brings together groups that would otherwise not work together, promoting formation of new identities, creating solidarity, and empowering them to protest more.

Question 12

What is the Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM) of crowd behaviour?

Answer 12

The idea that shared identity develops in context through intergroup dynamics in the moments of collective action, which provides a basis for group norms under a range of contexts.

Question 13

What did Drury and Reicher find in 2005 (regarding collective action) when they

Answer 13

• Police were viewed as an illegitimate outgroup
• Enhanced ingroup amongst protesters
• Protesters felt more empowered (example of police action radicalizing protestors)

Question 14

What did Louis 2009 find regarding the publics opinion a week before (T1) and immediately after (T2) a protest had been done in Malaysia, who either were empowered or threatened by the protest.

Answer 14

If you were empowered at T2 by protests your identification with the movement and support for structural change would strengthen, especially if it was strong at T1, and the opposite for if you were threatened by the protests - Showing POLARISATION.

Question 15

What were the two findings of Boehmke et al., 2023 regarding state proximity to BLM protests and collective action?

Answer 15

• Predicted greater support for the movement & its goals (e.g., defunding the police)
• Amplified the use of terms associated with their goals in public discourse (e.g., “systemic
  racism”, “White supremacy”)

Question 16

What did Sawyer & Gampa (2018) find regarding the score change on the Implicit Associations test and proximity to BLM protests?

Answer 16

Occurrence of the Black Lives Matter protests corresponded with reductions in implicit and explicit bias amongst White Americans (e.g., reductions in preference for White people
compared to Black people)

Question 17

What is the activists dilemma?

Answer 17

Peaceful and normative protests tend to elicit more public sympathy/approval, however disruptive and violent tactics gain more media coverage.

Extreme protest strategies lead to decreased social identification, leading to decreased intentions to join and lower support for the movement.

Question 18

What was the main finding of Burrows, Selvanathan, & Lickel, 2021 regarding the generation of qualities ascribed to activists who were disadvantaged or advantaged?

Answer 18

Saw a DOUBLE BIND.

Disadvantaged groups were more likely to be
perceived as strong and community oriented, but also angry and aggressive.

Advantaged activists were more likely to be perceived as altruistic but also as guilty and pretentious.

Question 19

Are violent strategies or non-violent strategies more effective in regards to collective action? and which effect does this link to?

Answer 19

Non violent strategies are more successful as NV protestors are seen as more moral/victimized then the opposition, which is usually police seen violent and immoral actors. Examples include strikes, boycotts, sit-ins, protests, marches, petitions, walk-outs.

Links to the underdog effect

Question 20

What is the non-violent collective action effect?

Answer 20

A non-violent group shows greater perceived morality which increases willingness to join and higher support for the movement.

Question 21

What is the radical flank effect?

Answer 21

More extreme violent/non-normative tactics used by groups within previously non-violent movements make the more moderate factions within that movement more acceptable