Social Movement Identity and Belief Systems: An Examination of Beliefs about Environmental Problems within the American Public

Abstract

Using six years of Gallup data, we examine the effects of environmental movement identity on several characteristics of environmental problem belief systems within the general public. We find that the environmental problem belief systems of self-identified active participants in the environmental movement exhibit greater consistency, greater consensus, and less position extremity than do those of individuals unsympathetic to the environmental movement. Future research on identification with and involvement in movements may benefit from utilizing our self-reported measure of social movement identity. Such an analytical strategy not only complements the practice of studying members of movement organizations, but also provides a more efficient means for examining the full range of variation in public support for a movement and easily allows for the comparative analysis of multiple movements.