Publications
Publications
- March 2024
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences
When Are Social Protests Effective?
By: Eric Shuman, Amit Goldenberg, Tamar Saguy, Eran Halperin and Martijn van Zomeren
Abstract
Around the world, people engage in social protests aimed at addressing major societal problems. Certain protests have led to significant progress, yet other protests have resulted in little demonstrable change. We introduce a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of social protest made up of three components: (i) what types of action are being considered; (ii) what target audience is being affected; and (iii) what outcomes are being evaluated? We then review relevant research to suggest how the framework can help synthesize conflicting findings in the literature. This synthesis points to two key conclusions: that nonviolent protests are effective at mobilizing sympathizers to support the cause, whereas more disruptive protests can motivate support for policy change among resistant individuals.
Keywords
Protests; Social Issues; Outcome or Result; Measurement and Metrics; Power and Influence; Motivation and Incentives
Citation
Shuman, Eric, Amit Goldenberg, Tamar Saguy, Eran Halperin, and Martijn van Zomeren. "When Are Social Protests Effective?" Trends in Cognitive Sciences 28, no. 3 (March 2024): 252–263.