Social Protest and Its Discontents

BADAAN, VIVIENNE; JOST, JOHN T.; OSBORNE, DANNY; SIBLEY, CHRIS G.; UNGARETTI, JOAQUÍN; ETCHEZAHAR, EDGARDO; HENNES, ERIN P.

Contention

Berghahn

Lugar: Brooklyn; Año: 2018 vol. 6 p. 1 - 22

2572-7184

Psychological factors that encourage?as well as discourage?participationin social protest are often overlooked in the social sciences. In this article, we draw together recent contributions to the understanding of the social and psychological bases of political action and inaction from the perspective of system justification theory. This perspective, which builds on theory andresearch on the ?belief in a just world,? contends that?because of underlying epistemic, existential, and relational needs to reduce uncertainty, threat, and social discord?people are motivated (to varying degrees, as a function of personality and context) to defend, bolster, and justify the legitimacy of the social, political, and economic systems on which they depend. We review evidencethat, alongside political conservatism and religiosity, system justificationhelps to explain resistance and acquiescence to the status quo in sociopolitical contexts as diverse as Lebanon, New Zealand, Argentina, and the United States.