The Dual-Pathway Model of Social Movement Participation: The Case of the Fat Acceptance Movement

We conducted a field study in the context of the U.S. fat acceptance movement to examine two possible pathways to social movement participation. One pathway concerns the calculation of the costs and benefits of participation; the other concerns collective identification with a social movement organization (SMO). Multiple regression analysis confirmed that calculation and collective identification processes made unique contributions to the prediction of willingness to participate. We also found that both processes exert additive effects rather than interactive effects on willingness to participate. Moreover, mediational analyses suggest that the effect of identification with the SMO on willingness to participate is mediated by an inner obligation to behave as a good group member. Whereas the calculation pathway is interpreted in terms of instrumental involvement motivated by specific extrinsic rewards, the identification pathway seems to represent intrinsic involvement based on the internalization of group-specific behavioral standards.