Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

In social movements, activists may belong to either the disadvantaged or the advantaged group (e.g., Black racial justice activists or White racial justice activists). Across three experimental survey studies, we examined the content of these stereotypes by asking participants to freely generate a list of characteristics to describe each target group—a classic paradigm in stereotype research. Specifically, we examined the stereotypes applied to Black and White activists within racial justice movements (Study 1, n = 154), female and male activists within feminist movements (Study 2, n =134), and LBGT and straight activists within Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender movements (Study 3, n =156). We found that the “activist” category was consistently differentiated into subcategories based on group status: Disadvantaged group activists were stereotyped as strong and aggressive, whereas advantaged group activists were stereotyped as altruistic and superficial. These findings underscore the importance of considering status differences to understand the social perception of activists.

Keywords

collective action stereotypes activists intergroup relations social change

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Barron

(2019, June 30). Pride Parade: 50 years after stonewall, a joyous and resolute celebration. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/30/nyregion/nyc-pride-parade.html

Bashir

N. Y.

Lockwood

Chasteen

A. L.

Nadolny

Noyes

(2013). The ironic impact of activists: Negative stereotypes reduce social change influence. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43(7), 614–626. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1983

Bobel

(2007). ‘I’m not an activist, though I’ve done a lot of it’: Doing activism, being activist and the “Perfect Standard” in a contemporary movement. Social Movement Studies, 6(2), 147–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/14742830701497277

Brewer

M. B.

Dull

Lui

(1981). Perceptions of the elderly: Stereotypes as prototypes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41(4), 656–670. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.41.4.656

Buchanan

Bui

Patel

(2020, July 3). Black lives matter may be the largest movement in U.S. history. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html

Carter

(2004). Stonewall: The riots that sparked the gay revolution. St. Martin’s.

Clausell

Fiske

S. T.

(2005). When do subgroup parts add up to the stereotypic whole? Mixed stereotype content for gay male subgroups explains overall ratings. Social Cognition, 23(2), 161–181. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.23.2.161.65626

Coles

S. M.

Pasek

(2020). Intersectional invisibility revisited: How group prototypes lead to the erasure and exclusion of Black women. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 6(4), 314–324. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000256

Cortese

D. K.

(2015). I’m a “good” activist, you’re a “bad” activist, and everything I do is activism: Parsing the different types of “activist” identities in LBGTQ organizing.” Interface, 7(1), 215–246.

10.

Craig

M. A.

Badaan

Brown

R. M.

(2020). Acting for whom, against what? Group membership and multiple paths to engagement in social change. Current Opinion in Psychology, 35, 41–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.03.002

11.

Crossley

(2008). Social networks and student activism: On the politicising effect of campus connections. The Sociological Review, 56(1), 18–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2008.00775.x

12.

Czopp

A. M.

Monteith

M. J.

(2003). Confronting prejudice (literally): Reactions to confrontations of racial and gender bias. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(4), 532–544. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202250923

13.

Devine

P. G.

(1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(1), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.56.1.5

14.

Devine

P. G.

Baker

S. M.

(1991). Measurement of racial stereotype subtyping. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17(1), 44–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167291171007

15.

Dickter

C. L.

Kittel

J. A.

Gyurovski

I. I.

(2012). Perceptions of non-target confronters in response to racist and heterosexist remarks. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42(1), 112–119. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.855

16.

Droogendyk

Wright

S. C.

Lubensky

Louis

W. R.

(2016). Acting in solidarity: Cross-group contact between disadvantaged group members and advantaged group allies. Journal of Social Issues, 72(2), 315–334. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12168

17.

Drury

B. J.

Kaiser

C. R.

(2014). Allies against sexism: The role of men in confronting sexism. Journal of Social Issues, 70(4), 637–652. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12083

18.

Faul

Erdfelder

Lang

A. G.

Buchner

(2007). G* Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146

19.

Feinberg

Willer

Kovacheff

(2020). The activist’s dilemma: Extreme protest actions reduce popular support for social movements. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(5), 1086. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000230

20.

Fetters

A. S. P.

(2017). The men at the women’s march on Washington. https://www.gq.com/story/photos-men-at-the-womens-march-on-washington

21.

Fisher

(2020, July 08). The diversity of the recent Black Lives Matter protests is a good sign for racial equity. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-rise/2020/07/08/the-diversity-of-the-recent-black-lives-matter-protests-is-a-good-sign-for-racial-equity/

22.

Garcia

D. M.

Reser

A. H.

Amo

R. B.

Redersdorff

Branscombe

N. R.

(2005). Perceivers’ responses to in-group and out-group members who blame a negative outcome on discrimination. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(6), 769–780. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167204271584

23.

Goff

P. A.

Steele

C. M.

Davies

P. G.

(2008). The space between us: Stereotype threat and distance in interracial contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94(1), 91–107. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.94.1.91

24.

Goldstein

S. B.

(2017). Stigma and stigma by association in perceptions of straight allies. Journal of LGBT Youth, 14(4), 345–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2017.1326867

25.

Green

R. J.

Manzi

(2002). A comparison of methodologies for uncovering the structure of racial stereotype subgrouping. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 30(7), 709–727. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2002.30.7.709

26.

Halabi

Nadler

Dovidio

J. F.

(2013). Positive responses to intergroup assistance: The roles of apology and trust. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 16(4), 395–411. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430212453863

27.

Hamilton

D. L.

(1981). Stereotyping and intergroup behavior: Some thoughts on the cognitive approach. In Hamilton

D. L.

(Ed.), Cognitive processes in stereotyping and intergroup behavior (pp. 333–353). Psychology Press.

28.

Hoffman

Hurst

(1990). Gender stereotypes: Perception or rationalization? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(2), 197–208. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.58.2.197

29.

Hornby

A. S.

Cowie

A. P.

(1995). Activist. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (Vol. 1430). Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/activist

30.

Hummert

M. L.

(1993). Age and typicality judgments of stereotypes of the elderly: Perceptions of elderly vs. young adults. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 37(3), 217–226. https://doi.org/10.2190/L01P-V960-8P17-PL56

31.

Hummert

M. L.

Garstka

T. A.

Shaner

J. L.

Strahm

(1994). Stereotypes of the elderly held by young, middle-aged, and elderly adults. Journal of Gerontology, 49(5), P240–P249. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/49.5.P240

32.

Iyer

Achia

(2020). Mobilized or marginalized? Understanding low-status groups’ responses to social justice efforts led by high-status groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120, 1287–1316. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000325

33.

Jones

Norwood

K. J.

(2016). Aggressive encounters & white fragility: Deconstructing the trope of the angry Black woman. Iowa Law Review, 102, 2017–2069.

34.

Kaiser

C. R.

Miller

C. T.

(2001). Stop complaining! The social costs of making attributions to discrimination. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(2), 254–263. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167201272010

35.

Katz

Braly

(1933). Racial stereotypes of one hundred college students. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 28(3), 280–290. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0074049

36.

Knowles

E. D.

Peng

(2005). White Selves: Conceptualizing and Measuring a Dominant-Group Identity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(2), 223–241. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.89.2.223

37.

Kutlaca

Becker

Radke

(2020). A hero for the outgroup, a black sheep for the ingroup: Societal perceptions of those who confront discrimination. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 88, Article 103832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103832

38.

Kutlaca

Radke

H. R.

Iyer

Becker

J. C.

(2020). Understanding allies’ participation in social change: A multiple perspectives approach. European Journal of Social Psychology, 50(6), 1248–1258. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2720

39.

Kutlaca

van Zomeren

Epstude

(2020). Friends or foes? How activists and non-activists perceive and evaluate each other. PLOS ONE, 15(4), Article e0230918. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230918

40.

Leach

C. W.

Iyer

Pedersen

(2006). Anger and guilt about ingroup advantage explain the willingness for political action. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(9), 1232–1245. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167206289729

41.

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Activist. Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/activist

42.

Niemann

Y. F.

Jennings

Rozelle

R. M.

Baxter

J. C.

Sullivan

(1994). Use of free responses and cluster analysis to determine stereotypes of eight groups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20(4), 379–390. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167294204005

43.

Oluo

(2018). So you want to talk about race. Seal Press.

44.

Park

J. W.

Vani

Saint-Hilaire

Kraus

M. W.

(2021). Disadvantaged group activists’ attitudes toward advantaged group allies in social movements. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 98, Article 104226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104226

45.

Phelan

(2019). Neoliberalism, the far right, and the disparaging of “Social Justice Warriors.” Communication, Culture & Critique, 12(4), 455–475. https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcz040

46.

Preddie

J. P.

Biernat

(2020). More than the sum of its parts: Intersections of sexual orientation and race as they influence perceptions of group similarity and stereotype content. Sex Roles, 84, 554–573. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01185-3

47.

Pritschet

Powell

Horne

(2016). Marginally significant effects as evidence for hypotheses: Changing attitudes over four decades. Psychological Science, 27(7), 1036–1042. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616645672

48.

Radke

H. R.

Kutlaca

Siem

Wright

S. C.

Becker

J. C.

(2020). Beyond allyship: Motivations for advantaged group members to engage in action for disadvantaged groups. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 24(4), 291–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868320918698

49.

Reinka

M. A.

Leach

C. W.

(2017). Race and reaction: Divergent views of police violence and protest against. Journal of Social Issues, 73(4), 768–788. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12247

50.

Rim

Trope

Liberman

Shapira

(2013). The highs and lows of mental representation: A construal level perspective on the structure of knowledge. In Carlston

D. E.

(Ed.), Oxford library of psychology. The Oxford handbook of social cognition (pp. 194–219). Oxford University Press.

51.

Rosch

E. E.

Lloyd

B. B.

(1978). Cognition and categorization. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

52.

Saguy

Fernández

Branscombe

N. R.

Shany

(2020). Justice agents: Discriminated group members are perceived to be highly committed to social justice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46(1), 155–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219845922

53.

Schnabel

Nadler

(2008). A needs-based model of reconciliation: Satisfying the differential needs of victim and perpetrator. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94(1), 116–132. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.94.1.116

54.

Schneider

M. C.

Bos

A. L.

(2011). An exploration of the content of stereotypes of black politicians. Political Psychology, 32(2), 205–233. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2010.00809.x

55.

Schneider

M. C.

Bos

A. L.

(2014). Measuring stereotypes of female politicians. Political Psychology, 35(2), 245–266. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12040

56.

Schwartz

(2009). Collective forgetting and the symbolic power of oneness: The strange apotheosis of Rosa Parks. Social Psychology Quarterly, 72(2), 123–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/019027250907200204

57.

Selvanathan

H. P.

Lickel

Dasgupta

(2020). An integrative framework on the impact of allies: How identity-based needs influence intergroup solidarity and social movements. European Journal of Social Psychology, 50, 1344–1361. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2697

58.

Siem

Von Oettingen

Mummendey

Nadler

(2013). When status differences are illegitimate, groups’ needs diverge: Testing the needs-based model of reconciliation in contexts of status inequality. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43(2), 137–148. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1929

59.

Southard

B. A. S.

(2007). Militancy, power, and identity: The Silent Sentinels as women fighting for political voice. Rhetoric and Public Affairs, 10, 399–417.

60.

Steele

C. M.

Aronson

(1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 797–811. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797

61.

Stroebe

Insko

C. A.

(1989). Stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination: Changing conceptions in theory and research. In Bar-Tal

Graumann

C. F.

Kruglanski

A. W.

Stroebe

(Eds.), Stereotyping and prejudice (pp. 3–34). Springer.

62.

Stuart

Thomas

E. F.

Donaghue

(2018). “I don’t really want to be associated with the self-righteous left extreme”: Disincentives to participation in collective action. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 6, 242–270. http://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1790

63.

van Leeuwen

Täuber

. (2012). Outgroup helping as a tool to communicate ingroup warmth. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38(6), 772–783. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167211436253

64.

van Zomeren

Postmes

Spears

Bettache

. (2011). Can moral convictions motivate the advantaged to challenge social inequality? Extending the social identity model of collective action. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 14(5), 735–753. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430210395637

65.

Vorauer

J. D.

Main

K. J.

O’Connell

G. B.

(1998). How do individuals expect to be viewed by members of lower status groups? Content and implications of meta-stereotypes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(4), 917. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.4.917

66.

Watkins

M. W.

Pacheco

(2000). Interobserver agreement in behavioral research: Importance and calculation. Journal of Behavioral Education, 10(4), 205–212. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012295615144

67.

Wiley

Dunne

(2019). Comrades in the struggle? Feminist women prefer male allies who offer autonomy-not dependency-oriented help. Sex Roles, 80(11), 656–666. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0970-0

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.04 MB

My Fight or Yours: Stereotypes of Activists From Advantaged and Disadvantaged Groups

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References

Supplementary Material