Black hope floats: Racial emotion regulation and the uniquely motivating effects of hope on black political participation

Abstract

Drawing upon theories of group based emotion, group based efficacy and appraisal, I propose a model of racial emotion regulation to explain variations in how Black and White Americans respond emotionally and behaviorally to policy opportunity cues. I test the major claims of this model with data from an original experiment and national survey. Findings from the studies indicate that expressions of hope carry a strong and consistent mobilizing effect on the political participation of African Americans, while producing null effects on White participation. I discuss the implications of this model for our understanding of the potential of hope to shape appraisals and perceptions of efficacy among socially marginalized groups, opening up a distinct pathway through which they can be mobilized for political engagement.

The Black radical imagination: a space of hope and possible futures

“…A large body of work demonstrates that group self-efficacy (i.e., the shared belief that one’s group can achieve social change) predicts motivation to partake in collective action ( 121 , 122 ). Feelings of hope are uniquely associated with Black Americans’ collective self-efficacy in that willingness to act on a social matter was present for Black Americans with high hope, but this association was not observed among white Americans in the sample ( 123 , 124 ). This finding highlights the mobilizing power of hope for Black Americans and how hope is deeply woven into the fabric of Black American existence.…”

An Angry, Hopeful, or Efficacious Citizen: Information, Emotion, and Participation in an Emerging Democracy

“…Extant research indicates that emotion plays a crucial role in mobilization for a wide array of political behaviors ranging from election campaign involvement and turnout to contentious behaviors such as protest (Lamprianou & Ellinas, 2019; Lee & Kwak, 2014; Namkoong et al, 2012). For instance, discrete emotions including anger (e.g., Ost, 2004; Valentino et al, 2011; Weber, 2013), fear/anxiety (Marcus & MacKuen, 1993; Miller, 2011; Valentino et al, 2009), and hope (Phoenix, 2020; Wlodarczyk et al, 2017) have been explored as predictors of political learning and mobilization for participation. Yet, research also indicates that the association between specific discrete emotions and political behavior is likely to be contingent on cognitions such as political knowledge and internal efficacy.…”

“…In a recent study, Cohen-Chen and van Zomeren (2018) found that participation in collective action is most likely to occur when the feeling of hope is accompanied by group-based feelings of efficacy. Similarly, research suggests that individuals having a sense of hope in connection with their group identity (i.e., national, racial, or ethnic) are more likely to mobilize for collective action when they perceive the group as being capable of influencing an outcome (e.g., Kim, 2022; Phoenix, 2020; Wlodarczyk et al, 2017). In other words, hope may bolster the relationship between collective efficacy and political participation.…”

Racial Limitations on the Gender, Risk, Religion, and Politics Model

“…Yet, identities cannot be considered in isolation, as they interact to create unique experiences for members of groups (Crenshaw 1989;Cassese, Barnes, and Branton 2015;Brown and Gershon 2016;Carlson, Abrajano, and Bedolla 2019). Religious and political behaviors are highly racialized and gendered (Brown 2014;Butler-Barnes et al 2018;Phoenix 2019a;Silva and Skulley 2019), demanding that we consider the ways that these identities interact when we evaluate how personalities shape social behavior. We respond to this call, theorizing that race and gender should shape the risk-religion-politics model.…”