Passion and moral disengagement: Different pathways to political activism

Abstract

Objective: Four studies examined the relationship between motivational imbalance-the degree to which a goal dominates other goals-and political activism. Method: Based on the dualistic model of passion (Vallerand, 2015) and recent theorizing on violent extremism (Kruglanski, Jasko, Chernikova, Dugas, & Webber, 2017), we predicted that obsessive passion (OP), which facilitates alternative goal suppression, would increase support for violent political behaviors. In contrast, we predicted that harmonious passion (HP), which facilitates the integration of multiple goal pursuits, would increase support for peaceful political behaviors. Results: Study 1a demonstrated that OP for environmentalism was positively associated with moral disengagement, which in turn predicted violent behaviors. HP was positively associated with peaceful behaviors. Political activism among Democrats yielded similar findings in Study 1b. Study 2 replicated Studies 1a-1b using an implicit measure of moral disengagement. Study 3 replicated Studies 1-2 by demonstrating that experimentally inducing a harmonious (vs. obsessive) passion mindset indirectly reduced violent behaviors through the attenuation of moral disengagement while directly promoting peaceful behaviors. Study 4 conceptually replicated Studies 1-3 by experimentally manipulating moral disengagement. Conclusions: These results offer insights into the workings of radicalization and suggest theory-driven methods of reducing political violence. K E Y W O R D S moral disengagement, passion, political activism, radicalization, violence | 1235 BÉLANGER Et AL.

“Return of the repressed”: Exposure to police violence increases protest and self-sacrifice intentions for the Yellow Vests

“…This may be due to the online setting of our survey, although research established that online and laboratory investigations usually give effect sizes of the same magnitude (see Paolacci et al, 2010). Besides, our effects were of size that is typical in research on Significance Quest Theory research (e.g., Webber et al, 2018; Bélanger, Schumpe et al, 2019). Therefore, we think these might reflect accurate parameter estimates (especially given the large sample under investigation).…”

“…According to Significance Quest Theory, individuals have a fundamental need to feel meaningful: they need to perceive that their actions have purpose (e.g., deriving satisfaction from one’s work), to feel that they are respected and achieve socially valued life-goals (e.g., having a desirable social status, being acknowledged for contributing to one’s community; see Bélanger, Schumpe et al, 2019). When this need is threatened, individuals will be more motivated to engage in actions aimed at restoring their sense of significance, which can lead them to join groups that offer strong social support, clear-cut narratives to make sense of their situation and social rewards for radical action (i.e., extremist religious or political groups).…”

“…For instance, individuals prompted with memories of humiliating events displayed increased support for terrorist organizations and extremist political views (Webber et al, 2018). Significance Loss can take many forms, from social exclusion to feelings of injustice, deprivation, and economic losses (Bélanger, Schumpe, et al, 2019). Relatedly, results from a representative sample of individuals incarcerated for violent crimes in the US show that economic and social losses (i.e., losing one’s job; divorce) were independent and positive predictors of commitment of ideologically motivated violence (e.g., hate crimes; Jasko et al, 2017).…”

Supporting political violence: The role of ideological passion and social network

“…Within the purview of political activism, Rip et al (2012) found that Quebec nationalists who scored higher on HP preferred peaceful and democratic ways of furthering their ideology, whereas those scoring higher on OP showed a proclivity toward aggressive and radical methods. Extending these findings, experimental evidence suggests that the relationship between OP (vs. HP) and radical (vs. peaceful) activism is mediated by moral disengagement, that is, people’s ability to deactivate moral self-regulatory processes, allowing unethical behavior—a proclivity related exclusively to OP (Bélanger, Schumpe, Nociti, et al, 2019). Although these results shed light on the cognitive mechanisms linking OP to political violence, they do not address the social components associated with radicalization.…”

“…To examine these questions, we build on prior work linking passion for a cause to violent political activism (Bélanger, Schumpe, Nociti, et al, 2019). Consistent with the 3N model of radicalization (Bélanger, Moyano, et al, 2019; Kruglanski Bélanger, & Gunaratna, 2019; Webber & Kruglanski, 2017) and uncertainty-identity theory (Hogg, 2000, 2007, 2009), we propose a trajectory whereby individuals struggling to fulfill their need for personal significance (i.e., obsessively passionate individuals), seek solace in radical networks that provide self-certainty, which predisposes them to embrace ideological narratives that condone political violence.…”