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If Your Friends Joined A Movement, Would You Do It Too? How Intergroup Contact Leads to Participation in the Black Lives Matter Movement
Date
2018Type
ThesisDepartment
Psychology
Degree Level
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Psychology
Abstract
Social movements allow individuals in society to come together to work toward
change, but what influences people to participate in social movements? Previous research
shows that intergroup contact was a key predictor of participation in the Freedom
Summer campaign of the Civil Rights movement. In this study, the effect of intergroup
contact on participation in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement is assessed. Using
survey data collected by the researcher on both a student sample and a general sample of
the population, it is found that greater amounts of intergroup contact with African
Americans predicts greater levels of participation in the BLM movement, controlling for
other factors. Findings also show that contact with people who actively participate in the
BLM movement leads to increased levels of participation; in contrast, contact with
people who have stopped participating in the movement does not decrease one’s level of
participation. Implications of the findings for our understanding of social-psychological
motivators to movement participation are discussed.
Permanent link
http://hdl.handle.net/11714/3499Additional Information
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