Political Psychology · 2002 · 304 citations · 64 references
Social ActivismPublic EngagementSocial PsychologyActivism Orientation ScaleSocial InfluencePolitical PolarizationPolitical BehaviorProtest StudiesCitizen ParticipationSocial SciencesActivismMedia ActivismCivic EngagementAdvocacySocial ActionSocial IdentityActivist IdentityCommunity EngagementIdentity PoliticsApplied Social PsychologySocial MovementsInterpersonal CommunicationSociologyPolitical AttitudesSocial Movement ResearchPolitical MovementsArts
The development of an activist identity is a central issue in social psychology, yet measurement difficulties have led to equivocal findings and hindered cross‑study comparisons. The study aimed to create a measure that assesses individuals’ propensities to engage in social action. The resulting Activism Orientation Scale shows strong psychometric properties and can evaluate activist propensity across a wide range of behaviors, ideologies, and movement issues, making it useful for researchers, activists, and policymakers.
The issue of how an activist identity develops is one of the core issues in social psychology and social movement research. Because of problems in the measurement of individuals’ propensities to engage in social action, however, findings in this area are often equivocal, and cross–study comparisons and conclusions are difficult to draw. Hence, the aim of these studies was to develop a measure to assess individuals’ propensities to engage in social action. This measure, the Activism Orientation Scale (AOS), demonstrates strong psychometric properties and allows assessment of activist propensity across a wide continuum of social action behaviors, ideological positions, and movement issues. Additionally, the broad applicability of the AOS allows for its use by researchers, activists, and policymakers.
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