Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x5gtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-01T02:20:01.565Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Using effective psychological techniques to subvert a US sociopolitical context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2023

Ilana J. Mermelstein  and
Stephanie D. Preston
Ilana J. Mermelstein
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA imerm@umich.edu prestos@umich.edu; https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/prestos-lab/
Stephanie D. Preston
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA imerm@umich.edu prestos@umich.edu; https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/prestos-lab/
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Chater & Loewenstein argue for a shift in focus from individual- to structural-level approaches to societal ills. This is valid and important but overlooks the barriers inherent in the current US partisan context. Psychology can be applied to help people of mixed allyship join together, to effectively and quickly force institutions and corporations to accept structural change.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e169
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amel, E., Manning, C., Scott, B., & Koger, S. (2017). Beyond the roots of human inaction: Fostering collective effort toward ecosystem conservation, Science (New York, N.Y.), 356(6335), 275–279. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aal1931CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Banerjee, T. (2020). The collective interests of large corporations: Social movement protest and the policy-planning network. The Sociological Quarterly, 61(3), 389–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartley, T., & Child, C. (2011). Movements, markets, and fields: The effects of anti-sweatshop campaigns on U.S. firms, 1993–2000. Social Forces, 90(2), 425–451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bickel, L. A., & Preston, S. D. (2023). Environmental impassivity: Blunted emotionality undermines concern for the environment. Emotion, 23(4), 1175–1189. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001072CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carty, V. (2002). Technology and counter-hegemonic movements: The case of Nike corporation. Social Movement Studies, 1(2), 129–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corkery, M. (2019). Beverage companies embrace recycling, until it costs them. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/04/business/plastic-recycling-bottle-bills.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_190705?campaign_id=2&instance_id=10696&segGoogle Scholar
De Young, R. (1990). Recycling as appropriate behavior: A review of survey data from selected recycling education programs in Michigan. Resources, Conservation, and Recycling, 3, 253–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedman, E. (2010). Target, best buy angers gay customers by making contribution to GOP candidate. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/target-best-buy-fire-campaign-contributions-minnesota-candidate/story?id=11270194Google Scholar
Hauser, D. J., Preston, S. D., & Stansfield, R. B. (2014). Altruism in the wild: When affiliative motives to help positive people overtake empathic motives to help the distressed. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(3), 1295–1305. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035464CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holpuch, A. (2015). Confederate flag removed from South Carolina capitol in victory for activists. The Guardian, July 10. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/10/confederate-flag-south-carolina-statehouseGoogle Scholar
King, B. G., & Soule, S. A. (2007). Social movements as extra-institutional entrepreneurs: The effect of protests on stock price returns. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52, 413–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leizerov, S. (2000). Privacy advocacy groups versus Intel: A case study of how social movements are tactically using the internet to fight corporations. Social Science Computer Review, 18(4), 461–483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, J. (1985). The birth of EPA. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/archive/epa/aboutepa/birth-epa.htmlGoogle Scholar
Lund, D. S., & Strine, L. E. (2022). Corporate political spending is bad business. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/01/corporate-political-spending-is-bad-businessGoogle Scholar
McDonnell, M., King, B. G., & Soule, S. A. (2015). A dynamic process model of private politics: Activist targeting and corporate receptivity to social challenges. American Sociological Review, 80(3), 654–678.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preston, S. D. (2013). The origins of altruism in offspring care. Psychological Bulletin, 139(6), 1305–1341. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031755CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Preston, S. D. (2022). The altruistic urge: Why we're driven to help others. Columbia University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preston, S. D., & de Waal, F. B. M. (2002). Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 25(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X02000018CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Preston, S. D., & Gelman, S. A. (2020). This land is my land: Psychological ownership increases willingness to protect the natural world more than legal ownership. Journal of Environmental Psychology 70, 101443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preston, S. D., Liao, J. D., Toombs, T. P., Romero-Canyas, R., Speiser, J., & Seifert, C. M. (2021). A case study of a conservation flagship species: The monarch butterfly. Biodiversity and Conservation, 3(7), 2057–2077.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quazi, A. M. (1998). The role of the consumer activist in protecting consumer interest: Ralph Nader. Journal of Economic and Social Policy, 3(1), 85–95.Google Scholar
Rosenbaum, S. (2018). She recorded that heartbreaking turtle video. Here's what she wants companies like Starbucks to know about plastic straws. Time. https://time.com/5339037/turtle-video-plastic-straw-ban/Google Scholar
Roy, D., Berry, E., & Dempster, M. (2022). “If it is not made easy for me, I will just not bother.” A qualitative exploration of the barriers and facilitators to recycling plastics. PLoS ONE, 17(5), e0267284.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiota, M. N., Papies, E. K., Preston, S. D., & Sauter, D. A. (2021). Positive affect and behavior change. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 39, 222–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.04.022CrossRefGoogle Scholar