Kahlstatt, Tabea (2024) Stress or Identification? – The Relationship between Participation and Persistence in Environmental Activist Groups. Master thesis, Psychology.
|
Text
KahlstattThesis.pdf Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Identifying predictors of retention time in climate activist organizations is vital for building an impactful, long-term climate movement. This study explores participation in an activist organization as a predictor of persistence, examining the opposing propositions of the conflict hypothesis and role identity theory. The competition hypothesis posits that participation negatively impacts persistence due to time conflicts and stress, while role identity theory suggests a positive impact mediated by interactions and organizational identification. The purpose of this study was to test whether one or both of these processes mediate the relationship between participation and persistence. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 79 German climate activists and evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. A relationship between participation and persistence could not be confirmed by the present results. The competition hypothesis was not supported, rejecting the idea that participation might have a negative influence on persistence. The positive influence of participation on persistence as proclaimed by role identity theory can also not be supported based on the present results. The integration of both explanations did not provide an improved prediction of participation in comparison to either of the theories. Still, a positive relationship between identification and persistence was found, indicating that role identity theory could be a suitable starting point for investigating the mechanisms underlying activist persistence more closely. The results indicate the need for additional variables to sufficiently explain the participation-persistence relationship. Climate activist organizations should not be concerned about overwhelming their members with activities and offers; instead, ways to improve group identification should be implemented.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Sharpe, E.J. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Environmental Psychology (EP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Jul 2024 08:25 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Jul 2024 08:25 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4195 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |