Abstract
Can moments of viral media activity transform into enduring activist movements? The killing of Cecil the lion by a trophy hunter in Zimbabwe in 2015 attracted global attention and generated enduring conservation activism in the form of monetary donations to the research unit that was studying him (WildCRU). Utilizing a longitudinal survey design, we found that intensely dysphoric reactions to Cecil’s death triggered especially strong social cohesion (i.e., “identity fusion”) amongst donors. Over a six-month period, identity fusion to WildCRU increased amongst donors. In addition, in line with an emerging psychological model of the experiential antecedents of identity fusion, cohesion amongst donors increased most for those who continued to reflect deeply on Cecil’s death and felt his death to be a central event in their own lives. Our results highlight the profound capabilities of humans to commit resources to supporting others who are distant in space and time, unrelated culturally or biologically, and even (as in this case) belonging to another species altogether. In addition, our findings add to recent interdisciplinary work uncovering the precise social mechanisms by which intense group cohesion develops.
Highlights
Cecil the lion’s death in 2015 at the hands of a trophy hunter prompted one of the largest reactions in wildlife conservation history (Macdonald et al, 2016a)
After the killing of Cecil the lion, thousands of people globally made donations to WildCRU and were sent occasional e-mail updates about the activities of the conservation organization, especially as it related to Cecil
This finding represents the first empirical demonstration of a longitudinal overall increase in fusion with a group resulting from a single precipitating event. This finding is unique given the remarkable stability of fusion that has been reported in response to other types of significant group events (Vázquez et al, 2017)
Summary
Cecil the lion’s death in 2015 at the hands of a trophy hunter prompted one of the largest reactions in wildlife conservation history (Macdonald et al, 2016a). Considering the dire state of lion conservation (Bauer et al, 2015), Macdonald and colleagues asked whether the “Cecil Moment” presaged a significant shift in commitment to lion conservation: a “Cecil Movement”—a metaphor for a world view in which humanity places a higher value on, and conserves better, not just lions, but wildlife, nature and the wider environment (Macdonald et al, 2016a). People who are strongly fused to a group
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