AMBIGUITY, SOCIAL-INFLUENCE, AND COLLECTIVE ACTION - GENERATING COLLECTIVE PROTEST IN RESPONSE TO TOKENISM

Social identity theory (SIT) proposes that disadvantaged group members take collective action only when intergroup boundaries are believed t o be impermeable and in-group status is perceived as illegitimate and unstable. In North America, the actual permeability of intergroup boun daries is often ambiguous, and decisions to take collective action are made against a dominant ideology of individual mobility. This researc h used the context of tokenism-highly restricted boundary permeability -to reflect this social reality and to test the impact of referent inf ormational influence and information from a salient out-group on endor sement of collective action. In Experiment I, information from an in-g roup member describing tokenism as illegitimate and demonstrating a no rm of anger increased interest in collective action. In Experiment 2, messages from the advantaged out-group focusing attention on collectiv e injustice also increased interest in collective behavior Findings su pport SIT, while highlighting the impact of socially relevant influenc es on interest in collective action.