A comprehensive model to collective action: Self-stereotyping as a route to sense of deservingness and system justification

Currently, the empirical inquiry into the social-psychological determinants of collective action has enjoyed a veritable explosion of interest. A wealth of studies has documented how social identity, relative deprivation, perceived group efficacy, and group-based anger affect individuals' decisions on collective action. Also, efforts to integrate these different approaches have been observed in this area. Although there is a vast literature on the psychological factors that mobilize collective action, little is yet known about how the content of self-stereotyping shape individuals' motivations to engage in collective action. Hence, the present study was conducted to complement the existing social psychological model of collective action by introducing the concept of self-stereotype and examining its effect on collective action. Specifically, it was predicted that competence self-stereotype enhances individuals' intention to participate in collective action, whereas negative competence self-stereotype (warmth self-stereotype) obstructs it. Two studies using participants from two ethnic groups in Ethiopia were conducted to test these predictions. In Study-2 (N = 458), results obtained from Structural Equation Modeling, confirm the prediction that competence self-stereotyping augments collective action intention, while warmth self-stereotyping attenuate it. Study-3 (N = 120) tried to replicate the findings of Study-2 using experimental design. The results confirm the positive effect of competence self-stereotyping and the negative effect of complementary self-stereotyping on collective action. However, the specific negative role of warmth self-stereotyping on collective action was not confirmed. Overall, the results highlight the importance of integrating the contents of self-stereotype in models designed to understand the social-psychological predictors of collective action.