Social identity framing communication strategies for mobilizing social change

By Viviane Seyranian. 2014

97 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Social identity framing delineates a set of communication tactics that leaders may use to harness follower support for a vision of social change. An experimental design tested the effectiveness of three social identity framing communication tactics (inclusive language, similarity language, positive social identity language) on follower outcomes. Students ( N = 246) completed dependent measures after reading one of eight possible leader speeches promoting renewable energy on campus. Results showed that participants exposed to inclusive language were more likely to: indicate that renewable energy was ingroup normative; intend to engage in collective action to bring renewable energy to campus; experience positive emotions and confidence about change; and to view the leader more positively. The combination of inclusive language and positive social identity increased ratings of leader charisma. Perceived leader prototypicality was related to followers' social identification, environmental values, ingroup injunctive norms, and self-stereotypes. Positive social identity language increased collective self-esteem. These results underline the important role of implicating social identity in leader communication that strives to mobilize follower support for social change.

Subfields: Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/403ebca15c50a809df74ecdef72fa179148c580d

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Citations in the corpus

Doing Social Identity Leadership: Exploring the Efficacy of an Identity Leadership Intervention on Perceived Leadership and Mobilization in Elite Disability Soccer (2019, methodology): “A single item commonly used in social identity research (e.g., Seyranian, 2014) assessed athletes’ hours of practice completed away from camps: “Away from [team name] camps how many hours per week do you dedicate to training for your soccer development?””
Uncertain Self in a Changing World: A Foundation for Radicalisation, Populism, and Autocratic Leadership (2020, background): “By elevating members’ uncertainty and thus their need for leadership, and promoting a social identity resolution that simultaneously builds group cohesion and a common identity, leaders can secure or advance their leadership credentials (e.g. Seyranian, 2014).”
The Greta Thunberg Effect: Familiarity with Greta Thunberg predicts intentions to engage in climate activism in the United States (2021, background): “…promote norms among their followers because of the strong identification they express with their followers, because they are prototypical representatives of their group, and because they consistently emphasize an inclusive group identity (Reese et al., 2020; Seyranian, 2014; Steffens et al., 2015).”