The role of intergroup contact, common ingroup identity and morality in promoting collective action among advantaged and disadvantaged group members

Abstract

Promoting positive intergroup relations and social equality represent goals of paramount importance, particularly in conflict-prone settings. Consequently, identifying ways to encourage collective action intentions aimed at creating a more equitable and inclusive society becomes imperative. While reducing prejudice may appear to be a logical pathway toward social equality, some critics contend that emphasizing positive intergroup relations, by reducing conflict and the salience of intergroup boundaries, could divert individuals' attention from addressing inequality, potentially undermining their motivation for social change. This suggests that the pursuit of one goal can be an obstacle for the other. Nonetheless, perpetuating negative intergroup relations is an impractical approach to achieving a more equitable and fair society, as it is intrinsically linked to the promotion of positive intergroup relations. It is, therefore, of crucial importance to understand how factors that foster positive intergroup relations, such as intergroup contact and inclusive identities, can contribute to the promotion of egalitarian societies. In this regard, the present research project aims to clarify the potential of these strategies in fostering solidarity-based collective action, offering a comprehensive narrative review of existing empirical studies that have explored the association between intergroup contact and collective action, with the aim of determining whether, when, and how such strategy can serve as a catalyst for social change via collective action. Next, five empirical studies that consider the perspectives of both advantaged and disadvantaged groups, including WEIRD and non-WEIRD samples, in various socio-cultural contexts will aim to examine the role of both intergroup contact and common ingroup identity in promoting collective action. In doing so, given the significance of morality emphasized in both contact and collective action literature, the role of morality will be examined as a potential factor able to link these strategies with the emergence of collective action intentions.