Psicologia sociale dell azione collettiva. Il movimento new global in Italia.

Why do people decide to participate in political life by joining an association, a party or a movement? What psychological variables contribute to a choice like this? Studying collective action from a social psychology perspective means focusing on the characteristics of the social context where action takes place, and then analyzing individuals’ perceptions of such context. The first section of this volume analyzes some psychological predictors of collective behavior that have been investigated by traditional research on collective action. These factors are of various kinds, ranging from personality traits to more collective variables, such as group identification or the perception that one’s group is being treated unfairly. These factors are investigated empirically in the second section of the volume. A sample of activists of the “new global” movement have been interviewed through a questionnaire in order to investigate their psychological motivations to take part to collective actions. Findings highlight some unique aspects and peculiarities of these “non-traditional” forms of collective action.