Identity Politics and Politicized Identities: Identity Processes and the Dynamics of Protest

Over the last decades, the concept of identity has become increasingly central in the social psychology of protest. Collective identity, politicized collective identity, dual identity, and multiple identities are concepts that help to understand and describe the social psychological dynamics of protest. In this article, I theorize about identity processes in the context of protest participation: how group identification establishes the link between social identity and collective identity, how multiple identities and dual identities influence protest participation, and how collective identity politicizes and radicalizes. I will illustrate my argument with results from research into collective action participation among farmers in the Netherlands and Spain, Turkish, and Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands and New York, South African citizens, and participants in street demonstrations conducted by my research group at VU‐University.     

Identity and injustice: Exploring women's participation in collective action

The present study is an investigation into the social psychological factors associated with women's reported participation in a range of different types of political action in the context of gender relations. At time 1,610 women were asked to rate their readiness to participate in various actions and to provide measures of social beliefs. Factor analysis extracted four types of action: participation in women's groups, collective protest, informal participation, and individual protest. One year later, at time 2, a subgroup of the same women were asked to say how much they had actually participated over the previous 12 months. Reported participation was related to gender identity, collective relative deprivation, efficacy, collectivist orientation, and identification as an activist. Regression analysis showed that identification as an activist was by far the most powerful correlate of participation, followed by gender identity; and that gender identity also played a role in moderating relationships between reported participation and other predictor variables. These findings show the important role of identity processes underlying participation in collective action and suggest the need to develop interaction models of participation.     

Group identification and political protest: farmers' protest in the Netherlands

Social identity theory is employed to conceptualise the role of group identification in the conversion of discontent into participation in political protest. It is assumed that higher levels of group identification stimulate participation in protest on behalf of the group. Perceived characteristics of the intergroup situation such as the permeability of group boundaries, and the stability and legitimacy of intergroup relations are supposed to modify the role of group identification. Group identification is decomposed into an affective and a behavioural component. Furthermore, ingroup identification is distinguished from outgroup differentiation; and groups are defined at different levels of inclusiveness. In a longitudinal study among Dutch farmers (n=168) the relationship between group identification and protest participation is investigated. Group identification, be it affective or behavioural, appears to influence action preparedness. People seem to enter the protest arena with some level of group identification. This level of group identification sets the level of action preparedness. Once set, the level of action preparedness remains fairly stable over time and appears to be a strong predictor of future action preparedness and participation. Action preparedness in its turn together with the behavioural component of group identification influences actual participation in collective action. Outgroup differentiation did not have any impact on protest participation. Identification with farmers in the European Union did not matter, but identification with farmers at the national or regional level did stimulate protest participation. Perceived characteristics of the intergroup situation did not have an impact on group identification, but permeability and stability did affect protest participation. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changing Identities to Change the World: Identity Motives in Lifestyle Politics and Its Link to Collective Action

In this article, we assume an interdisciplinary approach to the study of why and how people transpose political considerations to their lifestyles. Our aims are threefold: to understand the meanings and perceptions of people engaged in lifestyle politics and collective action; to examine the motives guiding individual change; and to explore the linkage processes between lifestyle politics and collective action. Identity process theory is considered as a lens to examine the processes and the motives of identity via a thematic analysis of 22 interviews. This study combined interviews with people seeking social change through their lifestyles with interviews with members of action groups and social movements. We found that each participant's identity is guided by identity motives such as distinctiveness, continuity, and psychological coherence. Besides, lifestyle politics is evaluated as an effective way to bring about social change, depending on the individual experience of perceived power to bring about change through collective action. Overall, lifestyle politics states the way in which the participants decided to live, to construct their identities, and to represent their beliefs about the right thing to do. Lifestyle politics complements collective action as a strategy to increase the potential of bringing about social change. The implications of this research are discussed in relation to the importance of understanding the processes of identity and lifestyle change in the context of social, environmental, and political change.     

Protest Against Waste Contamination in the ‘Land of Fires’: Psychological Antecedents for Activists and Non‐activists

The ‘Land of Fires’ is a district in Italy characterized by illegal waste disposal, waste burning, and citizen protests over contamination. This study investigates the relevance of several psycho‐social factors that predict citizens' intention to protest, taking into account different research traditions. In addition, we hypothesize the effect of protest antecedents to be moderated by past participation behaviour (i.e. the level of activism). Hence, our study is a first attempt to explore the effect of protest antecedents as a function of the individual level of activism through a cross‐sectional survey study (N = 306). The results show significant effects of collective identity, sense of injustice, costs of protest, and perceived risk (cognitive dimension) on intention to protest. The effects of collective efficacy and perceived risk (affective dimension) are moderated by participants' level of activism, and these effects are significant only for non‐activists. The relevance of this new approach is discussed, as well as practical implications and possible further developments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personal Political Salience: The Role of Personality in Collective Identity and Action

Personal political salience (PPS) is proposed as a personality characteristic that assesses individuals' linkage of political events with their personal identities. Its role in facilitating the development of politicized collective identity and action is examined. In four samples of midlife and activist women, we show that PPS was consistently related both to politicized gender identity and political participation. Further analyses show similar results for PPS, politicized racial identity, and political participation. Politicized gender identity mediated the relationship between PPS and women's rights activism, and politicized racial identity mediated the relationship between PPS and civil rights activism. PPS is demonstrated to independently predict political action and also to provide a personality link between group memberships, politicized collective identity, and political participation.     

群体认同在集群行为中的作用机制

在集群行为背景下, 群体认同对个体的集群行为意愿既具有直接的动员作用, 同时也可以调节群体情绪和群体效能变量与人们行为意愿间的关系。政治认同、共同认同与双重认同等特殊形式的群体认同对集群行为的发生具有不同的影响。从动态性研究的角度看, 参与集群行为会强化个体对内群体的认同感, 而强烈的群体认同则会对参与者的行动产生持续影响。今后的研究应根据集群行为的不同触发情境、不同形式及不同发展阶段对群体认同的复杂工作机制进行探讨。     

工具理性、社会认同与群体愤怒—— 集体行动的社会心理学研究

集体行动现象一直备受社会科学共同体关注。20世纪早期, 社会心理学曾是集体行动研究界的主导视角, 后逐渐转至社会学与政治学视角。最近20多年, 社会心理学视角开始复苏, 进入研究复兴期。社会心理学家先后确认工具理性、社会认同和群体愤怒这三种影响个体参与集体行动的主要前因变量, 并分别建构了包含工具理性和群体愤怒路径、包含工具理性和社会认同路径, 以及包含社会认同、工具理性和群体愤怒路径的三种重要集体行动参与模型。未来的集体行动社会心理学研究应重视行动情境类型、个体心理特征和除愤怒之外的群体情绪在集体行动参与中的作用, 考察理想信念等潜在新前因变量的可能地位, 加强与群际关系、歧视动机等其它经典研究领域的联系。     

The presence of the past: Identity continuity and group dynamics

Social psychologists are increasingly interested in the temporal dimensions of social life and in identity continuity in particular. Focusing on ethnicity and national identity we discuss the implications of perceived group continuity and collective self-continuity, and their interplay, for group dynamics. Using the social identity perspective and theories of identity motivation, we show, first, that the need for collective self-continuity forms a unique motivational basis for group identification. Second, we demonstrate that people are more likely to derive a sense of collective self-continuity from groups that are seen as relatively stable and immutable over time (i.e., essentialist in-groups). Third, we find that existential threats to group identity strengthen a sense of collective self-continuity, which, in turn, increases in-group defence mechanisms in the form of negative attitudes towards immigrant out-groups and towards social developments that potentially undermine in-group continuity. Fourth, we discuss empirical findings that indicate that group-based nostalgia for the nation is an identity management strategy in response to in-group continuity threats and that nostalgia leads to immigrant out-group exclusion.     

当抗议遭遇挫折:集体行动失利情境下情绪反应对行动意愿的作用

在集体行动发展过程中,新的群际互动事件会对参与者心理及行为产生重要影响。本研究采取调查问卷与实验情境设计相结合的方法,考察了集体行动失利情境下参与者情绪体验对其未来行动意愿的影响,以及群体认同与群体效能对情绪的作用机制。研究结果显示:1)集体行动的消极结果会引发参与者愤怒与沮丧情绪体验,且愤怒情绪对其未来行动意愿有正向预测作用,沮丧情绪对其未来行动意愿有负向预测作用;2)群体认同与群体效能会影响群体成员因集体行动失利而产生的愤怒感与沮丧感,参与者对内群体的认同感越强,效能评估越高,在集体行动遭遇挫败时体验到的愤怒感就越强,体验到的沮丧感就越弱。本研究扩展了集体行动的情绪研究取向,并为探讨集体行动的动态演变提供了新的研究思路。     

集群行为：界定、心理机制与行为测量

集群行为有两个特征：以群体行为的姿态出现; 行为的目的在于提升群体的利益。集群行为理论、精细化社会认同理论和去个性化理论都分别从不同的角度对集群行为的形成、发展及维持进行了解释。其中, 社会认同、愤怒情绪以及效能感描述了集群行为发生前的心理准备状态; 群际间不良的互动模式以及志同道合者的出现, 是大规模集群行为得以引爆的重要条件; 而在集群行为爆发后, 群体内所形成的暂时性的、情境性的“规则”则是集群行为得以维持的关键。目前集群行为研究常用的方法有：特定情境下的参与行为意向测量和对历史数据的回溯。西方集群行为的理论与研究对于探讨我国群体性事件具有一定借鉴意义。     

跨情境下集群行为的动因机制

群体性事件是当下我国典型的集群行为。本研究通过实验室情景设计的方法, 考察了跨情境下群体相对剥夺如何通过群体认同作用于集群行为, 及群体愤怒和群体效能对集群行为的影响。结果表明：1) 同一触发情境下, 群体认同调节群体相对剥夺－集群行为(意向)之间的关系。一般群体认同凸显的个体在高群体相对剥夺水平下有更强烈的集群行为参与(意向)。这源自群体认同对群体相对剥夺不同水平下群体效能与集群行为意向之间的二次调节。对于特定群体认同凸显的个体, 无论群体相对剥夺水平的高低, 都有较高的集群行为参与(意向)。这当中, 群体愤怒起到了部分中介的作用。2) 不同触发情境下, 群体认同对群体相对剥夺与集群行为意向的调节作用出现差异。该调节作用仅出现在利益无关情境中。此外, 群体愤怒与群体效能对集群行为意向的影响在不同情境下有区别：在利益无关情境中, 群体愤怒的影响显著大于群体效能; 在利益相关情境中, 群体效能与群体愤怒的影响无显著差异。本研究扩展了集群行为的双路径模型, 并为政府预防和化解群体性事件提供思路。     

Introducing the Collective Action Recursive Empowerment (CARE) Model: How Small-Scale Protests Led to Large-Scale Collective Action in Armenia's Velvet Revolution

The current study examined the motivations and outcomes of the Armenian Velvet Revolution through the voice of 18 protesters with qualitative interviews, exploring their motivations for joining the collective action, their perceptions of its implementation, and resultant psychological changes. Participants distinguished between individual- and group-level processes and bypassed social divisions through a shared belief in the value of “Rejecting Serzh” (i.e., opposing then President Serzh Sargsyan). Results also illustrated a recursive process of collective action supporting the development of a new theoretical CARE (collective action recursive empowerment) model. The model understands successful social change as a function of both individual and group identity informing collective-action processes: Smaller acts of protest increase individual feelings of shared group identity and empowerment/efficacy beliefs, thus strengthening motivations for continued protest and making large-scale collective action achievable. By linking together multiple time points of a collective-action process in one recursive model, the current work maps out one specific case of successful collective action in recent history, which serves as a basis for broader theoretical generalization and future empirical research.     

Too great to act in solidarity: The negative relationship between collective narcissism and solidarity-based collective action

Three studies examined the association between narcissistic identification with one’s advantaged in-group and engagement in solidarity-based collective action. Drawing on theory and past research, a negative effect of collective narcissism on solidarity-based collective action was expected. A two-wave longitudinal study (N = 162) found that Polish participants’ narcissistic, but not secure, national identification decreased their willingness to engage in collective action in solidarity with refugees over time. A field study (N = 258) performed during a mass protest against a proposed abortion ban showed that men’s gender-based collective narcissism was a negative predictor of solidarity-based engagement (operationalized as protest behavior and collective action intentions) and this effect was mediated by lowered empathy for women. Finally, a web-based survey (N = 1,992) revealed that heterosexual/cisgender individuals’ collective narcissism was negatively associated with collective action intentions in support of LGBT rights and that this effect was sequentially mediated by increased intergroup anxiety and decreased empathy for LGBT people. Theoretical implications of the present findings, research limitations, and future directions are discussed.     

National Days,National Identity,and Collective Memory: Exploring the Impact of Holocaust Day in Israel

This study uses the case of Holocaust Day in Israel to examine the premise that national days impact national identity and collective memory. Specifically, the study examines whether a very unique type of national day—Holocaust Day—impacts national identification, nationalism, and collective memory in the form of Israeli Jews' perceptions of the “lessons” of the Holocaust. This study uses panel survey design data on national identity and perceptions of the Holocaust's lessons from the same sample of Israeli Jews (N = 665) collected two months prior to Holocaust Day and again during and after Holocaust Day. During and after Holocaust Day, respondents expressed increased levels of nationalism and more perceptions of both particularistic and universalistic Holocaust lessons. Participation in Holocaust Day practices had a stronger relationship with nationalism and national identification during Holocaust Day than before but a weaker relationship with the perception of a universalistic lesson during Holocaust Day. These findings indicate that Holocaust Day impacts national identity and collective memory and highlights the multifaceted nature of the relationships between national identity, collective memory, and national days. The theoretical implication of the findings as well as the case comparability are discussed in light of the findings.     

The Influence of the Internet on the Psychosocial Predictors of Collective Action

The Internet has emerged as an important communication platform for the support of collective action, but little is known about how it influences the psychosocial motives for participation. Two quantitative studies were conducted within two different mobilizing contexts, in which offline collective actions were launched through computer‐mediated communication. We examined whether and how the frequency with which people participated in online political discussions moderated the effects of the psychosocial predictors of collective action, specifically politicized identity, anger, collective efficacy, and morality. Results showed that collective action intention was predicted by politicized identity only when participants reported a higher versus lower frequency of online discussion. However, anger did not predict collective action when people had the chance to express this emotion through a higher versus lower frequency of online discussion. Moreover, collective efficacy and morality supported collective action intention in participants who reported a higher versus lower frequency of online discussion. We theorize on how computer‐mediated communication, and its specific features, can be studied as a mobilizing context that influences the psychosocial motives to participate in collective action. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

两种认同共存下集体自我的趋向

采用新的研究范式,探讨长期认同和短期认同同时存在条件下的社会认同与群体参照效应,并通过二者的比较来考察两种认同共存下集体自我的趋向。结果表明：在社会身份长期认同和短期认同同时存在的条件下,社会认同与群体参照效应的变化一致,均没有向内群体取向;集体自我对共存的两种认同条件均有趋向;同时验证了文化背景对个体集体自我的影响。     

How Collective Participation Impacts Social Identity: A Longitudinal Study from India

A key issue for political psychology concerns the processes whereby people come to invest psychologically in socially and politically significant group identities. Since Durkheim, it has been assumed that participation in group‐relevant collective events increases one's investment in such group identities. However, little empirical research explicitly addresses this or the processes involved. We investigated these issues in a longitudinal questionnaire study conducted at one of the world's largest collective events—a month‐long Hindu festival in north India (the Magh Mela). Data gathered from pilgrims and comparable others who did not attend the event show that one month after the event, those who had participated (but not the controls) exhibited heightened social identification as a Hindu and increased frequency of prayer rituals. Data gathered from pilgrims during the festival predicted these outcomes. Specifically, perceptions of sharing a common identity with other pilgrims and of being able to enact one's social identity in this event helped predict changes in participants' identification and behavior. The wider significance of these data for political psychology is discussed.     

Identity affirmation and social movement support

It is argued that the power of collective identification to mobilize people for collective action such as social movement support derives at least partly from processes of identity affirmation. The hypothesized identity‐affirming function of social movement support is tested in two laboratory experiments which revolve around collective identity as a supporter of the peace movement. In Experiment 1, we predicted and found that people who strongly identified with the peace movement showed more movement support (i.e. made more monetary donations to the peace movement) under conditions of uncertain as opposed to certain possession of identity as a movement supporter. In Experiment 2, we replicated this finding, but also found, in accordance with the notion of substitution, that the mobilizing effect of uncertain collective‐identity possession was undermined when an identity symbol was available that could function as a surrogate for more costly identity‐affirming behaviour. Further conceptual and social implications of the identity‐affirming function of social movement support are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.