Discussion 11 – Feeling Hopeful Inspires Support for Social Change

Discussion 11 – Feeling Hopeful Inspires Support for Social Change

Discussion 11 – Feeling Hopeful Inspires Support for Social Change

To Prepare

• Review this week’s Learning Resources on conducting ethical research and promoting social change
• Think of a study you would like to conduct that has implications for positive social change.
• Identify at least one ethical guideline that you would need to consider as part of your research

By Day 4

Post a response to the following:

Briefly describe the study you would like to conduct, including the characteristics of the participants in your sample (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity, any special characteristics such as disability, sexual orientation, employment or education). Describe the ethical guideline you identified and explain why the guideline is necessary to consider as part of your study. Finally, explain how your study would contribute to positive social change. Be specific.

Feeling Hopeful Inspires Support for Social Change

Katharine H. Greenaway University of Queensland

Aleksandra Cichocka University of Kent

Ruth van Veelen University of Groningen

Tiina Likki University of Lausanne

Nyla R. Branscombe University of Kansas

Hope is an emotion that has been implicated in social change efforts, yet little research has examined whether feeling hopeful actually motivates support for social change. Study 1 (N = 274) confirmed that hope is associated with greater support for social change in two countries with different political contexts. Study 2 (N = 165) revealed that hope predicts support for social change over and above other emotions often investi- gated in collective action research.

Study 3 (N = 100) replicated this finding using a hope scale and showed the effect occurs independent of positive mood. Study 4 (N = 58) demonstrated experimentally that hope motivates support for social change. In all four studies, the effect of hope was mediated by perceived efficacy to achieve social equality. This research confirms the motivating potential of hope and illustrates the power of this emotion in generating social change.

KEY WORDS: Hope, social change, perceived efficacy, intergroup relations

People have long recognized the power of emotions in motivating social action, although research has typically focused on the role of negative emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt (e.g., Mackie, Devos, & Smith, 2000; Wohl, Branscombe, & Klar, 2006).

In a refreshing new direction, calls have been made to consider the motivating potential of positive emotions as catalysts for social change, particularly among advantaged group members who are typically regarded either as passive beneficiaries of inequality or active combatants of social change (Thomas, McGarty, & Mavor, 2009).

The present research focuses on hope as a positive emotion that has the potential to propel people into social action. In particular, hope may hold the key to motivating advantaged groups to assist in achieving social change.

Political Psychology, Vol. xx, No. xx, 2014 doi: 10.1111/pops.12225

0162-895X © 2014 International Society of Political Psychology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, and PO Box 378 Carlton South, 3053 Victoria, Australia

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0162-895X VC 2014 International Society of Political Psychology

Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ,

and PO Box 378 Carlton South, 3053 Victoria, Australia

Political Psychology, Vol. 37, No. 1, 2016

doi: 10.1111/pops.12225

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