Van Zomeren, Spears, Fischer, & Leach (2004). Put your money where your mouth is! Explaining collective action tendencies through group-based anger and group efficacy - Article summary

Group members often do not act on group disadvantage, especially when they perceive themselves as having little efficacy to bring about change. Collective action in response to collective disadvantage might have to do with the degree to which group members perceive the disadvantage as group based and unfair (1), it might have to do with group-based emotions (e.g. anger) (2) or the costs and benefits of action and the perceived efficacy (3).

The appraisal theory states that appraisal, emotion and action are means by which people cope with events in their social world. There are two types of coping with social reality (e.g. perceived disadvantage):

1. Problem-focused coping pathway

This is aimed at changing reality. 

2. Emotion-focused coping pathway

This is aimed at regulating the emotions tied to the situation. 

The problem-focused coping pathway makes use of group efficacy. Collective action might be more likely if group members perceive their disadvantage as unstable. The idea of group efficacy can be strengthened by instrumental social support, the perceived willingness of other group members to take collective action. 

The emotion-focused coping pathway makes use of emotions tied to the situation. In this case, collective action requires group-based appraisal of unfairness (1) and illegitimacy (2). This evoked group-based emotions of anger which can be strengthened by emotional social support, the support for one’s opinion regarding group disadvantage, and this makes collective action more likely. 

Collective disadvantage makes the social identity salient. This can lead to group-based appraisal of procedural unfairness in which emotional social support promotes collective action tendencies through group-based anger. It can also lead to group-based appraisal of instrumental social support which strengthens collective action tendencies through group efficacy.

Collective action requires the perception of a collective disadvantage (1) and a perceived collective identity (2). Collective disadvantage is likely to lead to a salience of social identity. Group efficacy refers to one’s collective belief that group-related problems can be solved by collective effort.

Group-based anger and group efficacy predict collective action tendencies when one’s in-group is disadvantaged. The highest collective action tendencies are found when there is both emotional social support and instrumental social support. Instrumental social support may enhance perceptions of emotional social support.