The moderating role of political affiliation in the link between flooding experience and preparedness to reduce energy use.

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Research suggests that highlighting links between local weather events and climate change can help promote climate change engagement. Yet, the evidence for the relationship between weather experiences and climate change attitudes has been mixed. Here we argue that obtaining an accurate assessment of the contribution of weather experiences to climate change engagement necessitates explicit evaluation of factors such as values and identities that influence the way weather experiences are interpreted and integrated into climate change attitudes. We re-analysed data from a prior study in which reported flood experience was found to be indirectly linked to preparedness to reduce energy use among UK residents. Overall, flood experience was positively linked with perceived vulnerability and negatively linked with uncertainty about climate change, but the purported indirect relationship between flood experience and preparedness to reduce energy use was observed among left and not right-leaning voters. We concluded that assessing interactions between extreme weather experiences and political affiliation lends valuable nuance to evaluation of the effects of such experiences on climate change perceptions and attitudes. Highlighting links between climate change and flooding may have varying levels of influence on climate change engagement depending on individuals’ political affiliation

A dynamic model of engagement in normative and non-normative collective action : psychological antecedents, consequences, and barriers

Some of the research reported in this review was prepared while Nicole Tausch was a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at Cardiff University (PDF/2007/520). Parts of this research were supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (RES-000-22-3251) awarded to Nicole Tausch and Russell Spears and by a grant from the German Research Foundation awarded to Jenny Roth for a network on “intra- and intergroup processes in the context of social inequality” (RO 4826/1-1).This review addresses three recent developments in the collective action literature. First, we demonstrate that normative and non-normative collective action participation can be predicted by different psychological variables. Second, we show that collective action participation has emotional and identity-related consequences for activists that shape their motivation to engage in future action. Third, we illustrate that members of disadvantaged groups are faced with two dilemmas: the dilemma of alternative ways of identity management and the dilemma of affective loyalties towards the outgroup, both of which present barriers to social change by undermining protest intentions. In the final part of the review, we outline an integrative framework that maps out the dynamic processes between antecedents of, barriers to and outcomes of collective action participation and highlight a number of directions for future research.PostprintPeer reviewe

How does intergroup contact affect social change? Its impact on collective action and individual mobility intentions among members of a disadvantaged group

A current debate surrounds the issue of whether prejudice-reducing interventions such as intergroup contact may reduce resistance to unequal intergroup relations among disadvantaged groups. Addressing this question, the present research investigates how positive contact with members of the advantaged group shapes action strategies to cope with disadvantage. Using survey data from a sample of Latino-Americans (N =112), structural equation modelling revealed that friendship contact with Anglo-Whites was overall negatively associated with interest in collective action. This relation was due to both reduced identification with the disadvantaged group and positive attitudes toward the advantaged group, which predicted reduced anger about inequality. Contact was also positively associated with an individual mobility orientation, a relation which was explained through increased perceived permeability. Individual mobility orientation did not, however, predict reduced motivation for collective action. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for societal change and novel directions for future research are discussed.PostprintPeer reviewe

Acting in solidarity: testing an extended dual-pathway model of collective action by bystander group members

We examined predictors of collective action among bystander group members in solidarity with a disadvantaged group by extending the dual pathway model of collective action, which proposes one efficacy-based and one emotion-based path to collective action (van Zomeren, Spears, Fischer, & Leach, 2004). Based on two proposed functions of social identity performance (Klein, Spears, & Reicher, 2007), we distinguished between the efficacy of collective action at consolidating the identity of a protest movement and its efficacy at achieving social change (political efficacy). We expected identity consolidation efficacy to positively predict collective action tendencies directly and indirectly via political efficacy. We also expected collective action tendencies to be positively predicted by moral outrage and by sympathy in response to disadvantaged outgroup’s suffering. These hypotheses were supported in two surveys examining intentions to protest for Palestine in Britain (Study 1), and intentions to attend the June 4th vigil in Hong Kong to commemorate the Tiananmen massacre among a sample of Hong Kong citizens (Study 2). The contributions of these findings to research on the dual pathway model of collective action and the different functions of collective action are discussed.PostprintPeer reviewe

How risk perception shapes collective action intentions in repressive contexts : a study of Egyptian activists during the 2013 post-coup uprising

This research was conducted while Arin Hovhannes Ayanian was a PhD candidate at the University of St Andrews, on a full scholarship from the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, Scotland.Social psychological research has overlooked collective action in repressive contexts, where activists face substantial personal risks. This paper examines the social psychological processes motivating activists to engage in collective action in risky contexts. We investigate the idea that perceived risks due to government sanctions can galvanize action through fuelling anger, shaping efficacy beliefs, and increasing identification with the movement. We also argue that anger, efficacy and identification motivate action intentions directly and indirectly through reducing the personal importance activists attach to these risks. We tested our hypotheses within a sample of Egyptian activists (N = 146) from two protest movements who protested against Morsi’s government and the military interventions, respectively, during the 2013 anti-Coup uprising. In line with our hypotheses, the perceived likelihood of risks was positively associated with anger and identity consolidation efficacy, and positively predicted action intentions indirectly through these variables. Risk was also associated with increased political efficacy, but only among anti-military protesters. Anger and political efficacy predicted action intentions directly and indirectly through reduced risk importance. Results also highlighted differential significance of emotional and instrumental motives for the two protest movements. We discuss directions for future research on the motivators of collective action in repressive contexts.PostprintPeer reviewe

Acting in solidarity: testing an extended dual pathway model of collective action by bystander group members

We examined predictors of collective action among bystander group members in solidarity with a disadvantaged group by extending the dual pathway model of collective action, which proposes one efficacy-based and one emotion-based path to collective action (Van Zomeren, Spears, Fischer, & Leach, 2004). Based on two proposed functions of social identity performance (Klein, Spears, & Reicher, 2007), we distinguished between the efficacy of collective action at consolidating the identity of a protest movement and its efficacy at achieving social change (political efficacy). We expected identity consolidation efficacy to positively predict collective action tendencies directly and indirectly via political efficacy. We also expected collective action tendencies to be positively predicted by moral outrage and by sympathy in response to disadvantaged outgroup's suffering. These hypotheses were supported in two surveys examining intentions to protest for Palestine in Britain (Study 1), and intentions to attend the June 4th vigil in Hong Kong to commemorate the Tiananmen massacre among a sample of Hong Kong citizens (Study 2). The contributions of these findings to research on the dual pathway model of collective action and the different functions of collective action are discusse

The Causal Effect of an Intergroup Contact Intervention on Affective Polarization around Brexit:A Randomized Controlled Trial

With mounting evidence of the increase and harmful societal consequences of affective polarization, it is crucial to find ways of addressing it. This proof-of concept study tested the effects of a theory-based intervention on affective polarization in the context of Brexit. Sixty Leaver-Remainer dyads were randomized to engage in either a facilitated intergroup interaction or a control interaction, which was equivalent in structure and tone but was unrelated to Brexit identities. Different aspects of affective polarization were measured one month prior, immediately after, and one month after the intervention. Results indicate short-term intervention effects on intergroup affect and cognition, and willingness to compromise with the outgroup, but these mostly decayed over time. Evidence of selective attrition suggests that those with more extreme baseline opinions were more likely to drop out. The findings are of considerable importance for efforts to reduce affective polarization and highlight the challenge of engaging those who could benefit the most

The Impact of Intergroup Emotions on Forgiveness in Northern Ireland

Although prejudice researchers have mainly focused their attention on changing attitudes toward outgroups, other outcome variables may also be important. In post-conflict reconciliation, intergroup forgiveness may play a crucial role in helping groups in conflict put the atrocities of the past behind them (Cairns, Tam, Hewstone, & Niens, 2005). Two studies showed that both the specific intergroup emotion of anger and infrahumanization (the attribution of more human emotions to the ingroup than to the outgroup) predicted decreased intergroup forgiveness in Northern Ireland. Results further revealed intergroup contact as a potential means of reducing anger toward the outgroup and improving attitudes toward them. This research integrated prior interpersonal theory with intergroup literature to examine the concept of intergroup forgiveness and its predictors. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for reconciliation in conflict societies

Indirect contact predicts direct contact : longitudinal evidence and the mediating role of intergroup anxiety

While the effects of direct and indirect forms of contact on intergroup relations are well documented, little is known about their longitudinal co-development. Based on the social-psychological literature, we hypothesize that indirect contact predicts future direct contact by reducing intergroup anxiety. Across five longitudinal studies (Study 1: German adults, N = 560; Study 2: German, Dutch, and Swedish school students, N = 6,600; Study 3: Northern Irish children, N = 1,593; Study 4: Northern Irish adults, N = 404; Study 5: German adults, N = 735), we systematically examined this effect, and further tested the mediating role of intergroup anxiety in Studies 3 to 5. Cross-lagged models provided consistent evidence for the positive effect of indirect contact on future direct contact, while a reduction in intergroup anxiety mediates this effect in most models. Results highlight the importance of indirect contact, which has the potential to increase direct contact, and thus promote social cohesion in diverse contexts, over time.PostprintPeer reviewe

Predicting aggressive collective action based on the efficacy of peaceful and aggressive actions

We examine whether aggressive forms of collective action are predicted by their perceived efficacy and the perceived efficacy of peaceful collective action, and whether the two predictors interact. We present data from surveys examining support for and tendencies toward aggressive collective action among university students opposed to increases in tuition fees in Britain (Study 1), and support for suicide bombings against Israeli civilians among Palestinians during the second Intifada (Study 2). Our results reveal an interaction between the efficacy of peaceful and aggressive collective actions: the more efficacious aggression is perceived to be, the greater its appeal and the less it is assuaged by the efficacy of peaceful action. This implies that 1) people may consider aggressive action whenever it works, even if peaceful action is efficacious, and 2) people may consider aggressive action even when it seems unpromising, if peaceful action is not efficacious, in an apparent nothing-to-lose strategy.PostprintPeer reviewe