In the fight for equality, outgroup allies have played a critical role. Despite this, little is known about what motivates these individuals and keeps them committed long term. The current research applies Omoto and Snyder’s (1995) volunteerism model to better understand the experiences of White ally activists. White individuals (N = 355) involved in racial justice work completed an online survey assessing antecedents (helping personality, motivations, social support), experiences (satisfaction, sense of community), and consequences (degree of involvement, well-being) of their antiracism work. Results showed a direct link between social support and degree of involvement, and an indirect link mediated by sense of community. Additionally, there was a direct link between social support and well-being, and an indirect link mediated by satisfaction. Helping personality and other-focused motives were not related to the outcomes. Implications for future research and for those working with White ally activists are discussed.
AlexanderM. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York, NY: New Press.
2.
American Psychological Association, Presidential Task Force on Educational Disparities. (2012). Ethnic and racial disparities in education: Psychology’s contributions to understanding and reducing disparities. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ed/resources/racial-disparities.aspx
3.
AstaE. L.Vacha-HaaseT. (2013). Heterosexual ally development in counseling psychologists: Experiences, training, and advocacy. The Counseling Psychologist, 41, 493–529. doi:10.1177/0011000012453174
BroidoE. M. (2000). The development of social justice allies during college: A phenomenological investigation. Journal of College Student Development, 41, 3–18.
6.
CaseK. A. (2007). Raising male privilege awareness and reducing sexism: An evaluation of diversity courses. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31, 426–435. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00391.x
7.
CaseK. A. (2012). Discovering the privilege of Whiteness: White women’s reflections on anti-racist identity and ally behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 68, 78–96. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2011.01737.x
8.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). CDC health disparities and inequalities report—United States, 2013. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/other/su6203.pdf
ChacónF.VecinaM. L.DávilaM. C. (2007). The three-stage model of volunteers: Duration of service. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 35, 627–642. doi:10.2224/sbp.2007.35.5.627
11.
ChavisD. M.LeeK. S.AcostaJ. D. (2008, June). The sense of community (SCI) revised: The reliability and validity of the SCI-2. Paper presented at the 2nd International Community Psychology Conference, Lisboa, Portugal.
12.
ClaryE. G.SnyderM.RidgeR. D.CopelandJ.StukasA. A.HaugenJ.MieneP. (1998). Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: A functional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 15–16. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1516
13.
CurtinN.KendeA.KendeJ. (2016). Navigating multiple identities: The simultaneous influence of advantaged and disadvantaged identities on politicization and activism. Journal of Social Issues, 72, 264–285. doi:10.1111/josi.12166
14.
CurtinN.McGartyC. (2016). Expanding on psychological theories of engagement to understand activism in context(s). Journal of Social Issues, 72, 227–241. doi:10.1111/josi.12164
15.
CurtinN.StewartA. J.DuncanL. E. (2010). What makes the political personal? Openness, personal political salience, and activism. Journal of Personality, 78, 943–968. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00638.x
16.
DroogendykL.WrightS. C.LubenskyM.LouisW. R. (2016). Acting in solidarity: Cross-group contact between disadvantaged group members and advantaged group allies. Journal of Social Issues, 72, 315–334. doi:10.1111/josi.12168
17.
DuncanL. E. (1999). Motivation for collective action: Group consciousness as mediator of personality, life experiences, and women’s rights activism. Political Psychology, 20, 611–635. doi:10.1111/0162-895X.00159
18.
DuncanL. E.StewartA. J. (2007). Personal political salience: The role of personality in collective identity and action. Political Psychology, 28, 143–164. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2007.00560.x
19.
FingerhutA. W. (2011). Straight allies: What predicts heterosexuals’ alliance with the LGBT community?Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41, 2230–2248. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00807.x
20.
FinkelsteinM.PennerL.BrannickM. (2005). Motive, role identity, and prosocial personality as predictors of volunteer activity. Social Behavior and Personality, 33, 403–418. doi:10.2224/sbp.2005.33.4.403
21.
FlacksR. (1967). The liberated generation: An exploration of the roots of student protest. Journal of Social Issues, 23, 52–75. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1967.tb00586.x
GilsterM. E. (2012). Comparing neighborhood-focused activism and volunteerism: Psychological well-being and social connectedness. Journal of Community Psychology, 40, 769–784. doi:10.1002/jcop.20528
24.
GrubeJ. A.PiliavinJ. A. (2000). Role identity, organizational experiences, and volunteer performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 1108–1119. doi:10.1177/01461672002611007
25.
HayesA. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
26.
International Wellbeing Group. (2013). Personal Wellbeing Index: 5th edition. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Centre on Quality of Life, Deakin University.
27.
Janoff-BulmanR.SheikhS.BaldacciK. G. (2008). Mapping moral motives: Approach, avoidance, and political orientation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 1091–1099. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2007.11.003
28.
JonesT. (1974). Institutional racism in the United States. Social Work, 19, 218–225. doi:10.1093/sw/19.2.218
29.
MillerM. J.SendrowitzK.ConnacherC.BlancoS.Muñiz de la PeñaC.MorereL.BernardiS. (2007). Development of the SIQ. Unpublished manuscript.
30.
MillerM. J.SendrowitzK.ConnacherC.BlancoS.Muñiz de la PeñaC.BernardiS.MorereL. (2009). College students’ social justice interest and commitment: A social-cognitive perspective. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 495–507. doi:10.1037/a0017220
31.
MontgomeryS. A.StewartA. J. (2012). Privileged allies in lesbian and gay rights activism: Gender, generation, and resistance to heteronormativity. Journal of Social Issues, 68, 162–177. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2012.01742.x
32.
MuninA.SpeightS. L. (2010). Factors influencing the ally development of college students. Equity & Excellence in Education, 43, 249–264. doi:10.1080/10665681003704337
33.
OmotoA. M.SnyderM. (1990). Basic research in action: Volunteerism and society’s response to AIDS. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 152–165. doi:10.1177/0146167290161011
34.
OmotoA. M.SnyderM. (1995). Sustained helping without obligation: Motivation, longevity of service, and perceived attitude change among AIDS volunteers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 671–686. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.68.4.671
35.
OmotoA. M.SnyderM.HackettJ. D. (2010). Personality and motivational antecedents of activism and civic engagement. Journal of Personality, 78, 1703–1734. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00667.x
36.
OstroveJ. M.BrownK. T. (2018). Are allies who we think they are?: A comparative analysis. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 48, 195–204. doi:10.1111/jasp.12502
37.
PennerL. A. (2002). Dispositional and organizational influences on sustained volunteerism: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 447–467. doi:10.1111/1540-4560.00270
38.
PennerL. A. (2004). Volunteerism and social problems: Making things better or worse?Journal of Social Issues, 60, 645–666. doi:10.1111/j.0022-4537.2004.00377.x
39.
PinteritsE. J.PoteatV. P.SpaniermanL. B. (2009). The White Privilege Attitudes Scale: Development and initial validation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 417–429. doi:10.1037/a0016274
40.
ReasonR. D.DavisT. L. (2005). Antecedents, precursors, and concurrent concepts in the development of social justice attitudes and actions. New Directions for Student Services, 110, 5–15. doi:10.1002/ss.161
41.
ReasonR. D.Roosa MillarE. A.ScalesT. C. (2005). Toward a model of racial justice ally development. Journal of College Student Development, 46, 530–546. doi:10.1353/csd.2005.0054
42.
RussellG. M. (2011). Motives of heterosexual allies in collective action for equality. Journal of Social Issues, 67, 376–393. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2011.01703.x
SheikhS. (2007). Moral motivations: The relationship between self-regulation and morality (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA.
45.
SmithL.RedingtonR. M. (2010). Lessons from the experiences of White antiracist activists. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 41, 541–549. doi:10.1037/a0021793
46.
StewartT. L.LatuI. M.BranscombeN. R.PhillipsN. L.DenneyH. T. (2012). White privilege awareness and efficacy to reduce racial inequality improve White Americans’ attitudes toward African Americans. Journal of Social Issues, 68, 11–27. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2012.01733.x
VecinaM. L.ChacónF. (2013a). Volunteering and well-being: Is pleasure-based rather than pressure-based prosocial motivation that which is related to positive effects?Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43, 870–878. doi:10.1111/jasp.12012
49.
VecinaM. L.ChacónF. (2013b). Is engagement different from satisfaction and organizational commitment? Relations with intention to remain, psychological well-being and perceived physical health in volunteers. Anales de Psicología, 29, 225–232. doi:10.6018/analesps.29.1.161861
50.
VecinaM. L.ChacónF.MarzanaD.MartaE. (2013). Volunteer engagement and organizational commitment in nonprofit organizations: What makes volunteers remain within organizations and feel happy?Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 291–302. doi:10.1002/jcop.21530
