A field study around a racial justice protest on a college campus: The proximal impact of collective action on the social change attitudes of uninvolved bystanders

Hema Preya Selvanathan,Brian Lickel

doi:10.5964/jspp.v7i1.1063

Hema Preya Selvanathan, Brian Lickel

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v7i1.1063

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Abstract

Social movements often use protests and other collective actions to draw public attention to their cause, yet the psychological reactions to such actions from their targeted audience is not well understood. This research investigates uninvolved bystanders’ immediate responses to collective action using a quasi-experimental field study designed around a racial justice protest that took place at a large public university in the United States. We surveyed two student samples exactly one week apart at the same time and location, first in the absence of protest and then again at the time of a racial justice protest (Total N = 240). We found that participants who believed that racism was not a problem on campus had more negative attitudes toward racial justice protests and protesters, as well as lower support for anti-racist efforts on campus on the day of the protest, compared to the day without a protest. These findings provide initial evidence that a protest encounter may trigger a backlash effect amongst those who have the most resistant attitudes toward social change.

Highlights

Racial justice movements often have a strong presence on college campuses
We conducted a quasi-experimental field study around a real anti-racist protest that occurred on a university campus, which we suggest encapsulates the phenomena whereby collective action aims to incite a reaction from its audience
We found evidence consistent with a backlash effect amongst people who did not perceive racism to be a problem on campus

Summary

Introduction

Racial justice movements often have a strong presence on college campuses. Since the Black Lives Matter movement emerged in 2013, a series of protests have occurred in universities across the United States to push for fair treatment of racial minorities.Why was this study done? Protests typically aim to gain the attention of broader society and mobilize greater support for their cause. Racial justice movements often have a strong presence on college campuses. Since the Black Lives Matter movement emerged in 2013, a series of protests have occurred in universities across the United States to push for fair treatment of racial minorities. Protests typically aim to gain the attention of broader society and mobilize greater support for their cause. We can observe this from the range of tactics and contentious actions that protesters typically undertake to disrupt everyday life. Being confronted by a protest might trigger backlash among some people. We aimed to understand how people react when they directly encountered a protest in their social environment

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