Why do people protest? – Explanations from psychology

At Hubland, signs reading "I die for the tram" hang from trees; at the Vierröhrenbrunnen, demonstrations for climate protection measures start; various Würzburg restaurants cancel reservations as soon as it becomes clear which party made them (1); and at the Residenz, tractors stand and block the street – protest is diverse and equally diverse are the underlying mechanisms of its emergence.

To explain these mechanisms, we must first understand why people act in groups. One explanatory approach is social identity theory (2), which states that people feel they belong to different groups and have an interest in those groups being treated fairly compared to other relevant groups. For example, I count myself among psychology students and am interested in fair treatment compared to medical students, though I would rate fairness compared to archaeology students as less important. Now, as a psychology student, I might feel unfairly treated because, from my perspective, medical students have less grade pressure. Then there are three options for dealing with this: option one is to switch to the better group – that is, to apply for a place in medical studies. Should this not be possible, for example because I might want to work in personnel selection, I can as a second option find a new comparison group. Furthermore, I can compare myself on a different dimension, such as amount of free time. The third option is to protest. The two paths for dealing with inequality that exist alongside protest are cited as the reason why people do not protest more often, even though inequality between groups is frequently prevalent: there are differently treated hierarchical groups in the workplace, exclusion of minorities at political events, but also on a smaller scale, such as discrimination based on ethnicity in a football club. These inequalities can only be partially obscured by switching groups and changing the comparison group. Although these behaviours do not change the circumstances of the group, the motivation to protest decreases.

Besides switching to another group and choosing a different comparison group, inequalities can be addressed through protesting, which shows two different forms of appearance. Normative or peaceful actions adhere to the given rule system (3). In the example of disadvantaged psychology students, this might be participation in a demonstration for better study conditions for psychology students. Non-normative or violent actions, in turn, violate existing norms; a hypothetical example would be carrying out an attack on the Minister of Culture. The distinction between normative and non-normative is strongly dependent on the political system. Since demonstrations are not permitted in China, for example, assembling for a demonstration in Beijing would be a non-normative form of protest.

When peaceful forms of protest are chosen, research assumes a four-stage process (4). Let us take Robert, the nurse, as an example this time. To participate in a protest action, he must first support the group's objectives. Robert wants, for example, to be paid according to a fair collective agreement and to work with more nursing staff per ward, which the trade union ver.di advocates for. Second, Robert as a potential demonstrator must receive information about mobilisation attempts. His nursing colleagues invite him on Facebook to the protest event. Then he must have motivation to participate, meaning the benefit he expects must not exceed the existing costs. If Robert has to travel 3 hours to the demonstration and does not expect it to achieve any change, he probably will not go to demonstrate. However, since he knows for certain that Mr Spahn will be near the event, he expects the demonstration to receive attention and decides he wants to participate. The last step of this model states that obstacles, such as this three-hour train journey, must be overcome.

This peaceful protest can be understood as a coping strategy, that is, a strategy for dealing with problems (5). Let us now consider the situation of farmers from the Würzburg region. When protest is chosen as a coping mechanism, it can be triggered by emotions, which means that anger and rage towards the outgroup are responsible for protest participation. The farmers feel abandoned due to current environmental and agricultural policy and undervalued; increasing bureaucracy makes it difficult for them to work. They are angry at having to submit to laws given by politicians, which prompts them to cause a traffic jam in the city centre with tractors. Protesting as a coping mechanism can be triggered not only by negative feelings but also by the perception of group efficacy. In the group, there is a prevailing sense that something can be done together against existing injustices. The farmers are aware that they can do little alone against existing abuses. However, if they work together, they get heard, which in turn increases the motivation to protest. Regardless of whether protest is motivated by emotions or group efficacy, identification with the group is an important prerequisite. Overall, groups with stronger group identification tend towards more emotionality and also stronger group efficacy, which together increases protest motivation.

Violent protest is the opposite of peaceful protest. Although violent activism receives more media attention, there is significantly less research on it, which is partly due to the fact that this phenomenon is rarer and therefore more difficult to research. Violent activism is explained by different mechanisms than peaceful protest (6). It is assumed that in violent forms of protest, the anger present in peaceful activism turns into contempt and hatred. As a result, group members have no interest in a compromise solution. Furthermore, the feeling of low group efficacy, that is, the perception that the group cannot do anything against existing abuses, leads to the decision for more radical measures. In disadvantaged groups, there also arises the feeling of having nothing to lose, and therefore radical behaviours are also seen as an acceptable strategy for dealing with problems. The farmers feel abandoned and the blockade of the city centre had to be called off early because chaos ensued (7). The desired changes have not occurred, conditions are worsening, and some of the farmers must sell their farms to support their families. In this distress and desperation, more radical measures become more likely.

Therefore, it is important to express our problems in normative forms of protest in a timely manner and not to ignore them for so long that we can only face them with contempt and resort to non-normative forms of protest. Everyone can contribute by supporting personally appealing protests and responding to them within the scope of their own possibilities. It has been shown that not necessarily those who are worst off protest, but people from higher educational backgrounds (4). So sign petitions, go to demonstrations and hang up signs to possibly also support those who do not themselves have the means to draw media attention to shortcomings and improve the circumstances of their group.

Florentine Klepel

Sources:

1) Eisenberger, T. (2020, February 27). Warum Würzburger Wirte die AfD-Wahlveranstaltung platzen ließen. Retrieved from https://www.mainpost.de/regional/wuerzburg/Warum-Wuerzburger-Wirte-die-AfD-Wahlveranstaltung-platzen-liessen;art735,10405895

2) Tajfel, H., Turner, J. C., Austin, W. G., & Worchel, S. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. Organizational identity: A reader, 56, 65.

3) Ausgabe 3 2013 / Politische Psychologie. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://de.in-mind.org/article/kollektives-handeln-ausserparlamentarischer-aktivismus?page=2

4) Klandermans, B., & Oegema, D. (1987). Potentials, networks, motivations, and barriers: Steps towards participation in social movements. American sociological review, 519-531.

5) Van Zomeren, M., Spears, R., Fischer, A. H., & Leach, C. W. (2004). Put your money where your mouth is! Explaining collective action tendencies through group-based anger and group efficacy. Journal of personality and social psychology, 87(5), 649.

6) Tausch, N., Becker, J. C., Spears, R., Christ, O., Saab, R., Singh, P., & Siddiqui, R. N. (2011). Explaining radical group behavior: Developing emotion and efficacy routes to normative and nonnormative collective action. Journal of personality and social psychology, 101(1), 129.

7) Eisenberger, T. (2019, December 3). Würzburger Bauerndemo: 1000 Traktoren legen Verkehr lahm. Retrieved from https://www.mainpost.de/regional/wuerzburg/Wuerzburger-Bauerndemo-1000-Traktoren-legen-Verkehr-lahm;art735,10337299