| Collective problems are pervasive features of social life that compromise health and well-being on many levels. Familiar examples include HIV/AIDs, terrorism, collapsing fisheries, and global climate change. Despite the prevalence of such problems, motivating people to engage in collective problem solving is often difficult. Recent attempts to shed light on when an individual will participate in collective action (hereafter "CA") have made much progress. However, those at the cutting edge note that we still lack sufficient knowledge about the relation between cognitive support and behavioral involvement in CA (Klandermans 1988:193; Benford and Snow 2000:633). I address this issue by offering a theory of one path toward CA participation that expands upon existing accounts of CA mobilization and capitalizes on social psychological insights. Additionally, I test this theory via a laboratory experiment in accord with Klandermans (1997:224) explicit call for more carefully controlled empirical investigation within this area of study.;The centerpiece of my theory asserts that consistency between an actor's beliefs and a CA appeal is positively associated with perceived message credibility, cognitive support for the CA, and actual participation in the CA. I also suggest, in accord with past theory, that actual participation is more likely when the problem is perceived as highly salient, the message source is perceived as credible, and other factors facilitate the CA. I incorporate these ideas into an integrated theory and assess core postulates using a new research paradigm. Specifically, I conduct an experiment to determine whether consistency between a CA appeal and a person's beliefs predicts message credibility, cognitive support, and actual participation in the CA. Overall, experimental results support the theory. Subjects were far more likely to participate in CA when the message was perceived as consistent with their beliefs and when they expressed cognitive support for the CA. Additionally, message credibility played a minor role in predicting CA participation. Overall, this project serves to deepen our understanding of one path by which individuals decide to participate in CA. |
