Identity Processes in Collective Action Participation: Farmers' Identity and Farmers' Protest in the Netherlands and Spain

This study tested the assumption that a sense of collective identity stimulates participation in collective action. Contextual circumstances supposedly make a collective identity more salient and compel people to act as members of the group; protest participation is more likely among people with a strong collective identity. Group identification and participation in identity organizations were used as indicators of collective identity in a study of 248 farmers from Galicia (Spain) and 167 farmers from the Netherlands. The farmers were interviewed three times at intervals of 1 year. The longitudinal design also allowed a test of causality. A sense of collective identity appeared to stimulate preparedness to take part in farmers' protest. Action preparedness leads to action participation, which in turn appears to foster collective identity.     

社会认同对集体行动的作用：群体情绪与效能路径*

为探究多元社会认同如何通过群体情绪、自我和群体效能路径,影响现实或网络集体行动参与,研究者分别以中日撞船事件、利比亚事件和就业性别歧视现象为背景蓝本,开展问卷调查和实验研究,结果发现：群体愤怒情绪主要对现实集体行动有显著影响,效能感对现实和网络集体行动皆有显著影响;与事件相关的、更大范畴的社会类别认同,通过情绪路径或效能路径影响集体行动参与,与集体行动组织方的认同则只通过效能路径影响集体行动参与;两类社会认同与两条路径之间是调节而非中介关系。不同事件背景与不同行动场域下的综合分析表明网络集体行动参与决策更具工具理性特征。     

Young People's Creative and Performing Arts Participation and Arts Self‐concept: A Longitudinal Study of Reciprocal Effects

This longitudinal study examines the relationship between young people's creative and performing arts participation (e.g., in dance, drama, film, music, visual arts) and their arts self‐concept. Drawing on the positive youth development (PYD) framework and the reciprocal effects model (REM) of self‐concept, a cross‐lagged panel design is implemented to explore the connections between arts self‐concept and each of school (e.g., school‐based arts instruction), home (e.g., parent–child arts interaction), and community (e.g., out‐of‐school arts instruction) creative and performing arts participation. The study drew on an Australian sample of 643 elementary and high school students from 15 schools. Analyses showed that beyond the effects of socio‐demographics and prior achievement, there are longitudinal associations (including reciprocal effects) between numerous forms of creative and performing arts participation and arts self‐concept. Implications are discussed.     

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.     

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。     

How Social Dominance Orientation Affects Union Participation: The Role of Union Identification and Perceived Union Instrumentality

Bridging social dominance theory and labour studies, this field study investigated the mechanisms underpinning the relationship between rejection of group‐based domination and participation in union activities. Respondents (N = 135) were members of a public sector union in California, that is, a hierarchy‐attenuating institution. Results revealed that union identification mediated the negative relationship between social dominance orientation and active union participation. Moreover, the mediational effect of union identification was moderated by perceived union instrumentality (i.e. outcome‐ and process‐based benefits afforded by the union), indicating that the relationship between union identification and participation was stronger among those union members who consider that the union affects workplace justice. The findings reveal the importance of both identity‐based and instrumental motivations underlying union participation. The novelty of applying social dominance theory to union behaviour is underscored. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional Rescue: How Affect Helps Partisans Overcome Collective Action Problems

Why does party identification motivate citizens to participate in politics? From a theoretical standpoint, it is in a partisan's self‐interest to free ride on the efforts of others. Yet, mere identification with a party is enough to motivate many people to overcome this structural hurdle. We theorize that, by virtue of aligning one's self with a party, individuals become more likely to react to their political environment with anger and enthusiasm rather than fear. Anger and enthusiasm are associated with approach and continuation of current behavior, while fear triggers behavior reconsideration. In short, party identification stimulates participation via anger and enthusiasm. On the other hand, fear produces thought but not much action. We find support for our model using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) and an original laboratory experiment.     

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。     

Understanding Party Identification: A Social Identity Approach

Social identity theory holds that individuals derive their self-concept from knowledge of their membership in a group (or groups) and that they place value and emotional significance on that group membership, with resulting perceptual and attitudinal biases. Individuals favor the in-group to which they belong which they define against a relevant out-group. In this study, a partisan social identity scale was used to reinterpret perceptual features of partisanship through the lens of social identity theory. The social identity of political independents was also examined in an effort to explain the anomalous behavior and identity of partisan leaners. Social identity theory provided a viable alternative framework for understanding the common bipolarity of perceptions regarding the two major U.S. political parties. In addition, an independent social identification may, in part, explain the identity of partisan leaners.     

From Social to Political Identity: A Critical Examination of Social Identity Theory

Interest in the concept of identity has grown exponentially within both the humanities and social sciences, but the discussion of identity has had less impact than might be expected on the quantitative study of political behavior in general and on political psychology more specifically. One of the approaches that holds the most promise for political psychologists is social identity theory, as reflected in the thinking of Henri Tajfel, John Turner, and colleagues. Although the theory addresses the kinds of problems of interest to political psychologists, it has had limited impact on political psychology because of social identity theorists' disinclination to examine the sources of social identity in a real world complicated by history and culture. In this review, four key issues are examined that hinder the successful application of social identity theory to political phenomena. These key issues are the existence of identity choice, the subjective meaning of identities, gradations in identity strength, and the considerable stability of many social and political identities.     

Collective school-type identity: predicting students' motivation beyond academic self-concept

In Germany, according to their prior achievement students are tracked into different types of secondary school that provide profoundly different options for their future educational careers. In this paper we suggest that as a result, school tracks clearly differ in their social status or reputation. This should translate into different collective school‐type identities for their students, irrespective of the students’ personal academic self‐concepts. We examine the extent to which collective school‐type identity systematically varies as a function of the school track students are enrolled in, and the extent to which students’ collective school‐type identity makes a unique contribution beyond academic self‐concept and school track in predicting scholastic motivation. In two cross‐sectional studies a measure of collective school‐type identity is established and applied to explain motivational differences between two school tracks in Berlin. In Study 1 (N = 39 students) the content of the collective school‐type identity is explored by means of an open format questionnaire. Based on these findings a structured instrument (semantic differential) to measure collective school‐type identity is developed. In Study 2 (N = 1278 students) the assumed structure with four subscales (Stereotype Achievement, Stereotype Motivation, Stereotype Social, and Compensation) is proved with confirmatory factor analysis. This measure is used to compare the collective school‐type identity across school tracks and predict motivational outcomes. Results show large differences in collective school‐type identity between students of different school tracks. Furthermore, these differences can explain motivational differences between school tracks. Collective school‐type identity has incremental predictive power for scholastic motivation, over and above the effects of academic self‐concept and school track.     

Our Followers Are Lions,Theirs Are Sheep: How Social Identity Shapes Theories About Followership and Social Influence

Two studies examine how self‐categorization theory can be used to refine our understanding of people's implicit theories about followership and social influence. Results from Study 1 show that perceivers regard followers of a group they themselves identify strongly with (rather than not at all) to be more representative of the prototype of effective followers (displaying enthusiasm, industry, good citizenship) and to be less representative of the antiprototype of effective followers (displaying conformity, incompetence, and insubordination). Results are replicated in a second experiment in which we compare the views of those self‐categorizing as either Republican or Democrat responding to followers of the Republican and Democratic Party. Results of Study 2 replicate those of Study 1 and also reveal qualitative differences in the preferred influence strategy for dealing with followers. Specifically, respondents seek to engage in persuasion when trying to change the behavior of ingroup followers, while resorting to coercion when trying to change the behavior of outgroup followers. Our results are the first to provide evidence that perceivers' theories about what followers are like and how they are influenced most effectively are structured by perceivers' identification (and dis‐identification) with the particular groups that leaders are championing.     

Social relations in crowds: Recognition,validation and solidarity

Social identity research on crowds demonstrates how cognitive self-definition as a crowd member results in conformity to identity-relevant norms. Rather less research has addressed the social-relational changes within a crowd and how these impact collective experience positively. The present study investigates these processes at a month-long mass gathering in India. Analysis of 37 interviews with participants attending the annual Magh Mela pilgrimage evidences the concept of shared identity as underpinning their understanding of this mass gathering. Moreover, a theoretically derived thematic analysis of these interviews shows the value of the analytic concepts of recognition, validation, and solidarity in illuminating the ways in which social relations in the crowd were experienced and contributed to the experience of the event. Through exploring the multi-dimensional nature of relational connectedness in crowds we contribute to an understanding of crowd experience and group processes.     

Exploring the Context-Sensitivity of Collective Action Motivations and the Mobilizing Role of Social Media: A Comparative Interview Study With Activists in Germany and Turkey

Western scholarship has underlined the relevance of social identity, perceived efficacy, emotions, and cost–benefit assessments as central catalysts of collective action. Little has been done to understand the context-sensitivity of these catalysts by means of cross-culturally comparative designs. The current study explores their context-sensitivity. It aims to find out whether existing opportunity structures in a democratic, nonrepressive country like Germany produce catalysts of collective action different from those produced in an autocratic, repressive country like Turkey. It also aims to understand the role of social media in mobilizing people in these two contexts. Semistandardized interviews with activists were carried out in both countries (n = 18 in Germany and n = 15 in Turkey) and analyzed by means of a cross-culturally comparative inductive coding procedure including initial and focused coding. Results show that collective action is related to different configurations of collective-action catalysts in the two countries. Solidarity concerns at the face of existential risks are more pronounced in Turkey, whereas political-change concerns are more important in Germany. The role of social media accordingly differs, adhering to the different activist goals. Theoretical implications for the role of context in studying collective action are discussed.     

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.     

Social Identification and Well-Being Following a Terrorist Attack: A Longitudinal Study of Israeli Adolescents

The authors examined the role of familial and national social identification in shaping the well-being (positive self-esteem [PSE] and satisfaction with life [SL]) among Israeli adolescents following a terrorist attack. Adolescents living in an attacked town (n = 259; M age = 16.19 years, SD = 0.74 years) and adolescents living in a not attacked town (n = 281; M age = 16.14 years, SD = 0.69 years) were studied longitudinally at 3 weeks and 1 year after the attack. Family identification promoted SL concurrently and PSE concurrently and longitudinally in both groups. Israeli identification hindered subsequent PSE and SL among trauma exposure group adolescents. The authors apply the findings to explain the protective and detrimental potential of social identification following traumatic experiences.     

The Compatibility of Personality and Social Identity Processes: The Effect of Gender Identity on Neuroticism

In an experimental study (N = 186), we examined the effect of identity (gender versus personal) on participants' self‐rated neuroticism and estimates of mean neuroticism for men and women. Self‐rated neuroticism was measured before and after the identity salience manipulation. Following self‐categorization theory, we predicted that identity salience would affect levels of self‐rated neuroticism and the estimates (perceptions) of mean neuroticism for each sex. From a personality perspective, we expected substantial correlations between pre‐manipulation and post‐manipulation neuroticism scores in both identity conditions. The relation between participants' self‐rated neuroticism and their estimates of mean neuroticism for their own sex was also examined. The effect of identity salience was unclear with regard to self‐rated neuroticism levels, whereas the manipulation had apparent effects on estimated mean neuroticism levels for men and women. Also, self‐rated neuroticism was found to predict estimates of mean neuroticism for men and women in the gender, but not personal, identity condition. Finally, in line with a personality perspective, the relative positions in self‐rated neuroticism were highly stable in both conditions. The findings indicate a compatibility of self‐categorization theory and personality perspectives and suggest that both are valuable to understand the changeability and stability of the self. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

集体自恋：群际冲突的催化剂

集体自恋是将自恋延伸到群体水平的一个经典构念, 目前被界定为对于“自身所属群体是卓越的并值得优待, 却未充分被他者承认”的信念。现有研究发现它对群际敌对性有较强解释力, 因为集体自恋者对内群体形象、地位或身份所受威胁高度敏感, 容易高估威胁和怀疑外群体, 而缺乏自我价值感及控制感是集体自恋的重要根源。鉴于现有研究一般都预设了集体自恋的脆弱性和消极性, 而集体自恋的属性不必然如此, 未来研究应在充分厘清集体自恋内涵及结构的基础上探索其消极与积极后效, 揭示其多元成因及干预方法, 并推进跨文化研究。     

课程学习经历提升青少年社会参与素养：链式中介效应

运用基于学校的研究范式,以上海市某中学为样本学校,考察社会参与特色课程学习经历对青少年社会参与素养的影响机制。结果显示:（1）修学的特色课程门数（量）、情感体验（质）、公共服务动机和社会参与素养两两显著正相关;（2）情感体验和公共服务动机在课程学习数量和社会参与素养间发挥部分中介作用;（3）未发现基础课程成绩在链式中介中起调节作用。研究为通过加强课程情感体验进而提升青少年核心素养提供了积极启示。     

尤尼斯道德发展的实践活动观述评

尤尼斯等人关于道德发展的实践活动观强调青少年期的社会参与经验对其道德发展的持久影响,认为社会参与活动构成青少年公民同一性、政治和道德同一性发展的基础,而对人性和社会的尊重是道德行为的根本机制,道德教育的使命就是让个体通过社会参与活动培养起这种尊重的品质。尤尼斯的道德实践活动观是对艾里克森和柯尔伯格理论的继承和超越,但有关研究仍然存在着一定的问题。