Feeling and thought in collective action on social issues: toward a systems perspective

Theories of action have tended to view it—and its basis in thought and feeling—as static, discrete, mechanistic, and decontextualized. Moreover, studies of action have tended to be fragmented in academic silos. The consequences of these problems include a lack of cumulative and contextualized theory-building, and an inability to recognize emergent, dynamic, and non-linear causality, especially across levels of analysis. We argue that such problems could be partly alleviated with increased engagement with a meta-theoretical perspective that has long been advocated for in psychology—the systems approach. In this view, thought, feeling, motivation, action, and context can be viewed as co-evolving, inextricably linked, systems of systems. We illustrate the need for and benefit of this approach in the domain of collective action on social issues. We conclude that systems perspectives allow more contextualized, generalizable, conceptually rich, and applied directions for research in this domain

A systems view of emotion in socio-political context

Most work to date in psychology and related sciences has examined simple, unidirectional causal processes of emotion affecting socio-political context or vice versa. In this classic, mechanistic view of science, each empirical observation stands on its own as a piece of some grander, not yet understandable, puzzle of nature. There have been repeated calls to eschew classic approaches in favor of systems meta-theory in psychology and related sciences. In this paper, we join these calls by arguing that systems meta-theory can better enable the study of emotions in socio-political contexts. We offer a brief primer on systems meta-theory, delineating three key beneficial features: multi-leveled, complex, and dynamic. Viewing emotion as a system of systems—within the person, their relationships (to others), and within the world (locally and globally)—enables fresh theory, method, and statistical analysis well suited to the study of emotion in a socio-political context

Sentiments of the dispossessed: emotions of resilience and resistance

In this chapter, we focus on the sentiments of the dispossessed with special interest in what emotion can tell us about the social and psychological meaning individuals and groups give to their societal disadvantage. Although it is true that societal disadvantage can sometimes lead the dispossessed to self-hatred or despondency (for discussions, see Bulhan, 1985; Sidanius & Pratto, 2001) this appears to be quite rare (for reviews, see Leach, in press b; Leach and Livingstone, 2015; Montero & Sonn, 2009; Phillips, Adams, & Salters, 2015). The more common experiences of societal disadvantage and devaluation are resilience and resistance. This is not surprising given the overwhelming evidence that the most serious and sustained adversity causes little lasting psychological or social damage to individuals (for a discussion, see Leach, in press b; Leach and Livingstone, 2015). Disadvantaged people – like all people – tend toward resilience and resistance

Political psychology in the Arab region: a commentary on navigating research in unstable contexts from Part IV - Diversifying Perspectives in Political Psychology

This chapter examines the history, challenges, and future of political psychology research in the Arab region, and argues that lack of attention to such regions is detrimental not only for these regions, but also for Western research and for the discipline as a whole

International support for the Arab uprisings: Understanding sympathetic collective action using theories of social dominance and social identity

Inspired by the popular Arab protests against oppressive regimes that began in 2010, people around the world protested in sympathy with the Arab peoples. The present research draws on two major theories of intergroup relations to develop an initial integrative model of sympathetic collective action. We incorporate social dominance theory’s (SDT) concept of (rejectionist) legitimizing myths with the solidarity and emotional mediation concept of the social identity model of collective action (SIMCA) to understand motivations for sympathetic collective action among bystanders. Using data from 12 nations (N = 1,480), we tested three models: (a) SIMCA (i.e., solidarity, anger, and efficacy), (b) a social dominance theory model of collective action (i.e., social dominance orientation and ideologies concerning Arab competence), and (c) an integrated model of sympathetic collective action combining both theories. Results find the greatest support for an integrated model of collective action. Discussion focuses on theoretical pluralism and suggestions for future research

Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies

An Author Correction to this article: DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22955-x.Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate.Peer reviewe

A Transnational and Intergenerational Account of Value Preference Patterns: Revisiting Needs-gratification and Post-materialist Theories

The socio-political values predominant in a particular society will reflect the correspondent needs of that society, and these needs can include factors other than material acquisition. In contrast to needs-gratification theory (Maslow, 1970), and post-materialist theory (Inglehart, 1971), this paper discusses agency in terms of relational autonomy (Oshana, 2006), as it pertains to power. I argue that a) personal and national economic affluence or security may not be sufficient to describe social ecology nor fully describe the ways that power can influence values, b) individual and collective relational power is utilitarian and essential, c) fulfillment of material and social needs can be directed by relational as well as material values, d) relational values can be just as common in impoverished or subordinated nations as they are in affluent or empowered nations, and e) values such as justice or egalitarianism may be more commonly held, and more strongly so, among people living under worse social ecologies and economic conditions. A conceptual analysis, a new measure of cross-level relational power, and a survey study of adult convenience samples in 7 nations (N=685) provide preliminary evidence supporting these hypotheses. Implications for theories of socio-political values and hierarchy are discussed

Social Mutualism as the Psychology of Alter-cultural Praxis

Drawing from various social scientific literatures, this dissertation focuses on a set of activist communities I term alter-cultures. These groups are communities of practice whose aims and principles coincide in: a) rejecting for themselves (but not for others) significant aspects of dominant cultures and systems of living detrimental to a commons, and b) constructing manifest beneficial alternatives to these systems. Through qualitative and quantitative analyses and comparisons of the rhetoric, relational configurations, and behavioral approaches of different activist groups, I show that alter-cultures are organized to transcend traditional social identity boundaries, and adopt a unique relational model of social interaction (termed social mutualism) that is communal and care-based but neither exclusive nor localized. Social psychologically, I show that these communities are focused on the positive, are systematic, deliberative, holistic, and engaged in commons care for the benefit of themselves, others, and a commons. In contrast, more typical counter-dominant groups and activists are more focused on the negative, on agents, and are more emotional, and adversarial in their approaches to and psychology of collective action

When Inequality Fails: Power, Group Dominance, and Societal Change

Social dominance theory was developed to account for why societies producing surplus take and maintain the form of group-based dominance hierarchies, in which at least one socially-constructed group has more power than another, and in which men are more powerful than women and adults more powerful than children. Although the theory has always allowed for societies to differ in their severity of group-based dominance and how it is implemented, it has predicted that alternative forms of societal organization will occur rarely and not last. This paper revisits aspects of the theory that allow for the possibility of societal alternatives and change. We also consider boundary conditions for the theory, and whether its current theoretical apparatus can account for societal change. By expanding the typical three-level dynamic system to describe societies (micro-meso-macro) into four levels (including meta) to consider how societies relate to one another, we identify political tensions that are unstable power structures rather than stable hierarchies. In research on institutions, we identify smaller-scale alternative forms of social organization. We identify logical, empirical, and theoretical shortcomings in social dominance theory’s account of stability and change, consider alternative forms of social organization, and suggest fruitful avenues for theoretical extension