Collective Protest and Legitimacy of Authority

Theory and Research

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6283390
AutoresPhilip Worchel (Department of Psychology Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), Philip G Hester (Department of Psychology University of Texas), Philip S Kopala (Department of Psychology University of Texas)
Ano1974
Volume18
Fascículo1
Páginas37-54
Data de publicação1974-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/002200277401800102
OpenAlexW2117623364
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas8
Referências citadas27

A theory of collective protest is proposed in which distrust and the erosion of the legitimacy of authority are postulated to be a function of frustrations perceived as inequitably imposed and arbitrary. The present study tested the predictions that protest groups would have a significantly lower evaluation of authority, be more willing to participate in violence, and have a greater sense of competence than nonprotest groups. Two separate studies were conducted. The first study compared attitudes of an activist protest group, the Young Socialist Alliance, with two nonprotest groups, an active voter registration group and a nonactive student group at the University of Texas. The second study dealt with the attitudes of the campus activist Mexican-American Youth Organization (MAYO) and a Mexican-American non-MAYO group. The following instruments were administered individually and anonymously: a semantic differential to evaluate traditional and legitimate author ities; a participation questionnaire requesting willingness to participate in negotiation, protest, and violent confrontation with authority; a credibility-rating scale to measure the trustworthiness of information issued by authority, and a modified internal-external scale to provide an indirect assessment of competence. The results supported the hypotheses derived from the theory of collective protest

Alliance · Competence (human resources · Credibility · Distrust · Legitimacy · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Salience (neuroscience · Sociology · Emotions and Moral Behavior · Law · Psychology · Psychology of Social Influence · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology