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 to be impermeable and in-group status is perceived as illegitimate and unstable. In North America, the actual permeability of intergroup boundaries is often ambiguous, and decisions to take collective action are made against a dominant ideology of individual mobility. This research used the context of tokenism-highly restricted boundary permeability-to reflect this social reality and to test the impact of referent informational influence and information from a salient out-group on endorsement of collective action. In Experiment 1, information from an in-group member describing tokenism as illegitimate and demonstrating a norm of anger increased interest in collective action. In Experiment 2, messages from the advantaged out-group focusing attention on collective injustice also increased interest in collective behavior. Findings support SIT; while highlighting the impact of socially relevant influences on interest in collective action.