Protected by the Emotions of the Group:Perceived Emotional Fit and Disadvantaged Group Members’ Activist Burnout

Psychological processes that hamper activism, such as activist burnout, threaten social change. We suggest that perceived emotional fit (i.e., perceiving to experience similar emotions as other disadvantaged group members) may buffer activist burnout by mitigating the deleterious effects of stressors that are associated with partaking in collective action. We investigated the relation between perceived emotional fit and activist burnout using three-wave longitudinal survey data of Palestinians in the context of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict. We hypothesized that both higher general tendencies to fit emotionally with the ingroup (general perceived emotional fit) and increases over time in perceived emotional fit (change perceived emotional fit) would relate negatively to activist burnout. Supporting our hypotheses, both aspects of emotional fit were associated with lower activist burnout, even when controlling for classical predictors of collective action. This research highlights perceived emotional fit as an additional dimension to the role of emotions for sustainable collective action.</p

Protest movements involving limited violence can sometimes be effective:Evidence from the 2020 BlackLivesMatter protests

SignificanceThe effects of recent protests for racial equality, particularly when they included violence, are currently of public and academic interest. To better understand these effects, we combine a dataset of all 2020 BlackLivesMatter protests with survey data containing measures of prejudice and support for police reform. Protests were not associated with reductions in prejudice, but were associated with increases in support for police reform. Specifically, a mix of nonviolent and violent protests was associated with an increase in police-reform support among conservatives living in liberal areas. This study highlights the importance of considering multiple measures of protest effectiveness and suggests that mass protest (including when it mixes nonviolence and violence) can be effective at advancing the movement's goals

With or without you:The paradoxical role of identification in predicting joint and ingroup collective action in intergroup conflict

While we have a rich understanding of the motivations of disadvantaged group members to act collectively with their group, especially the important role played by identification, we know less about the disadvantaged's motivations to engage in joint action with the advantaged. This research examines the role of identification in predicting joint and ingroup collective action in intergroup conflicts. Since joint action inherently diffuses the perception of "us versus them", we propose that identification predicts ingroup action, but not joint action. We also examine conflict intensity as a moderator, and examine how changing identification is linked to change in support for joint action. We test these hypotheses in a three-wave longitudinal study in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Results support our hypotheses, demonstrating that identification positively predicts ingroup action but not necessarily joint action, and that when conflict intensifies, changes in identification are negatively related to joint action with outgroup members

The Quest for Hope:Disadvantaged Group Members Can Fulfill Their Desire to Feel Hope, but Only When They Believe in Their Power

Within contexts of oppression and struggle for social change, in which hope is constantly challenged, do disadvantaged group members still want to feel hope? If so, does this desire translate into actual hope? And does motivation for hope relate to disadvantaged individuals' collective action tendencies? We suggest that, especially when faced with setbacks in the struggle for social change, disadvantaged group members want to feel hope, but actualizing this motivation depends on their group efficacy beliefs. We address these questions in a two-wave sample of 429 Palestinians living under militarized occupation in the West Bank. Our results indicate that when faced with setbacks, Palestinians want to feel hope for social change, but only those who perceive high group efficacy are able to fulfill their desire. We discuss these findings' implications for understanding motivated emotional processes and hope in contexts of oppression

When a Sense of "We" Is Lost:Investigating the Consequences of a Lost Common Identity Among Druze in Israel

Research shows that inclusive identities are effective for improving intergroup relations. Little work, however, asked what happens once a sense of common identity is formed, but then lost. Given increasing diversity and integration attempts that might fail, this question is realistic and timely. We studied a religious minority in Israel, Arab-Druze (N = 178), constituting 1.6% of the population. Druze have always had strong common ties with the Jewish majority, particularly younger Druze who serve in the Israeli army. We surveyed Druze in the aftermath of the nationality bill, which was considered by many to be highly exclusionary toward non-Jews. Drawing on research on minority exclusion, we expected that for younger Druze, a sense of common identity loss will predict radical forms of action. This was supported by our cross-sectional data and remained stable after controlling for more classic predictors of violent and nonviolent action

Disadvantaged Group Members are Prouder of Their Group When Using the Language of the Dominant Group Compared to Their Native Language

In ethnolinguistically diverse societies, disadvantaged groups often face immense pressure to acquire and speak the language of the advantaged group to achieve social inclusion and economic mobility. This work investigates the impact on disadvantaged group members’ ingroup pride and self-esteem when they use the language of the advantaged group and their native language. We test two competing hypotheses: disadvantaged group members experience higher ingroup pride when using their native language due to its emotional significance (Nativity Hypothesis) or when using the language of the advantaged group due to its potential to activate subordination-dominance relations (Insecurity Hypothesis). In six experimental studies conducted among Palestinian citizens of Israel (total N = 1,348), respondents reported significantly higher ingroup pride when answering a survey in Hebrew compared to Arabic, supporting the Insecurity Hypothesis. Studies 2a-2b reported higher ingroup pride in Hebrew, regardless of the identity of the audience (ingroup vs. outgroup researcher). Study 3 replicated this result in a setting featuring the “bogus-pipeline” technique, suggesting that the language effect was not driven by social desirability. Finally, Study 4 examined other self-conscious constructs to validate insecurity as a potential mechanism and demonstrated that participants engaged in compensation by enhancing their collective self-esteem and attaching more positive attributes to their group in Hebrew than Arabic. These findings combinedly suggest that the disadvantaged group members’ perceptions of themselves are constructed through languages that symbolize varied statuses within the hierarchy, and highlight the importance of recognizing power relations within multilingualism contexts