Why We Protest 1

Running Head: Why We Protest

Why We Protest: The Sociology behind Social Resistance Movements

Cydnie T Brown
Glen Allen High School

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Introduction
Protesting has always been a large part of human existence. Some of the earliest humans
documented went against the grain and thought outside of the box. The French inhabitants grew
sick and tired of the power and France and decided to take it back. The Civil Rights Movement
fought for equal rights in America, and changed the course of American history. All of these
protests have a few things in common, but they all have one in particular. All of these
movements have the violence factor within them making them one of the most dangerous forms
of political participation. Even though there are so many different ways to change the
government, more and more millennials are finding the most effective way in protesting. What
would make these innocent young people want to risk everything for a cause they believe in? As
the Black Lives Matter and Trump protests continue this question will become and continue to
stay prominent as the years go on.
Emotional Connection
Politicsand especially politics of protestare full of emotions. People are angry about
injustice, thrilled or fearful about the immigration into America, and indignant because they want
real democracy now. Emotions are used in two different ways with in protesting. Protesters have
emotions connected to the issue and emotions connected to the group they identify with. Yang
(2000) for instance found negative emotions, anger, outrage, shame and fear elicited by
interactions with opponents (in this case Chinese authorities), while positive emotions as joy,
compassion and pride were elicited in the interaction with other activists inside the movement
(600). Yangs study provides evidence that emotions are connected in action of protesting and
that it is not just a snap decision, thoughts and feelings are connected. The study also exemplifies

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the group-based emotions that consequently lead to collective behavior, which serves as the
motivation to participate in protest or even abstain from it.
Most people do not protest every day, on the other hand, protest activity can be quite a
powerful sometimes even transforming experience (Corrigall-Brown, 2012). Protest events offer
a possibility for social movements to create or strengthen emotional bonds between their
adherents and to establish or strengthen a collective identity (Eyerman, 2005). Collective
identities are forged by solidarity. Solidarity forges bonds and a feeling of togetherness; together
we are stronger than the sum of our parts. Protesters who identify with others involved, share the
feeling of weness, your problem, is my problem, is our problem, thus evoking solidarity.
Bonds between movement members are likely to be strengthened by the shared experiences
leading to greater commitment to and solidarity within the group. In terms of action tendency,
solidarity instigates a need to come together and stay close to each other. Social movements
aimed at affirmative action, foster feelings of solidarity amongst group members.
Social Identity Theory
In the 1970s, a social psychological identity perspective on protest emerged in the form
of social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1979). Tajfel and Turner (1979) showed that social
categorization according to some trivial criterion such as the blue or the red group suffices to
make people feel, think, and act as a group member. Compared to this minimal group
paradigm, real world intergroup conflicts with histories, high emotional intensity attached to
them and sociopolitical consequences can be seen as maximal group paradigms that bring
powerful group membership to mind (Van Stekelenburg et al., 2010). SIT proposes that people
generally strive for and benefit from positive social identities associated with their groups. The

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only way for participants in minimal group studies to obtain a positive social identity is by
identifying with the groups into which they are categorized, and then ensuring that their group
comes off best in the only available comparison between the groups (i.e. giving more rewards to
the in-group than the out-group). Having a positive social group identification has been found to
boost self- confidence as well as the ability to make larger decisions. The addition of the Social
Identity Theory can influence participation in protests in people who are searching for a place of
belonging and their purpose in life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the urge to protest does not come from a place of impulse, but rather a
place of psychological weakness. People of different backgrounds and phases of life come
together in order to make the things they feel are wrong, right. They do this based upon their
connection to the people around them and the issue at hand, the way they feel about themselves
in a social manner (who they think they are and what people think about them), and how
wronged they feel theyve been. Protesting has become one of the largest forms of political
action and it should be taken into consideration as the countrys leading danger as well.
Reference List
Corrigall-Brown, C. (2012). From the Balconies to the Barricades and Back? Trajectories of
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De Weerd, M., & Klandermans, B. (1999). Group Identification and political protest: farmers
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Eyerman, R. (2005). How Social Movements Move: Emotions and Social Movements. In H.
Flam (Ed.), Emotions and social movements (pp. 41-56).

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Klandermans, B. (2004). The Demand and supply of participation: Social psychology correlates
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