Moral conviction drives lasting activism
A new psychology study finds young adults driven by internal moral conviction are more likely to stay engaged with social causes than those seeking social
Young adults in the United States who support social causes due to internal moral convictions are more likely to anticipate staying engaged over time than those driven by a desire for social approval. Research published in Social Psychology Quarterly indicates that political ideology shapes these motivations, with liberals often acting from empathy and conservatives frequently relying on community approval.
The researchers, E. Ashby Plant and Kyle Rose of Florida State University, surveyed 934 young adults aged 18 to 29. Participants identified a primary cause and rated their motivations for acting on it. They reported whether they acted because it was personally important or to gain approval from others.
The Role of Motivation and Emotion
Both internal and external motivations were linked to past action. For predicting future engagement, however, only internal motivation mattered. Emotions played a key role in these motivational pathways.
Those with high internal motivation tended to experience other-focused emotions like empathy and anger at wrongdoers. They also felt positive about themselves and reported lower guilt. Those with high external motivation were more likely to report self-focused emotions, including both pride and guilt.
How Political Ideology Influences Drive
Political ideology strongly influenced these patterns. Liberal participants reported higher levels of empathy, negative emotions directed at others, and internal motivation. The data indicated that their tendency to experience empathy and anger statistically accounted for their higher internal motivation.
Conservative participants reported higher levels of pride and external motivation. The researchers found that feelings of pride statistically explained their tendency to rely on external motivation for their activism.
To gain deeper insight, the researchers conducted follow-up interviews with 30 participants. During these interviews, liberal participants frequently emphasized internal motivations and explicitly rejected acting for social reputation. They framed participation as a moral responsibility and expressed anger about injustice and frustration toward apathetic people.
Conservative participants often described their engagement in terms of social interaction and community building. Many tied their activism to religious faith, which provided a supportive network. These individuals expressed pride in seeing tangible results, like distributing donations.
The interview responses suggested the traditional divide between internal and external motivation might be less rigid for individuals motivated by faith. For many conservative participants, a desire for approval from their religious community or God functioned as a highly stable form of external motivation.
The study relied on survey data from a single point in time, which prevents establishing cause and effect. People's feelings and motivations might change. Participants self-reported their behaviors, which can differ from reality. Finally, external motivation driven by a religious community might operate differently than motivation aimed at impressing peers, potentially offering a more permanent and stable audience.
