Modelling the mediating effect of multiple emotions in a cycle of territorial protests

ABSTRACT

Nowadays it is customary to incorporate emotions as explanatory variables of protest participation, since numerous studies have provided evidence for their relevance. However, the incorporation of emotions in quantitative research continues to emphasise the effect of a limited set of emotions (normally one or two with negative valence, such as anger or contempt) that are modelled as mediators between non-emotional motives and participation. This makes it difficult to test the joint effect that multiple emotions appear to have, as has been reported in qualitative research. The present research aims to address these gaps in the quantitative literature by applying structural equation modelling to a survey administered to a random sample of 500 inhabitants of a region of Chile in which a long cycle of territorial protests occurred. Our results confirm some hypotheses derived from qualitative research by showing that emotions are in fact experienced in arrays, that emotions with positive valence play a relevant role in explaining participation, and that several emotions mediate the effect of non-emotional motives and participation. It is also clear that emotions experienced by the population are significantly interrelated, thus a study of the direct or mediating effects of any given emotion must also address other emotions experienced intensely by subjects. This evidence could help to modify and improve the way in which emotions are integrated into formal quantitative models of protest participation.

KEYWORDS:

• Protest participation
• social emotions
• self-efficacy
• collective-efficacy
• mediation

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Paul Salter for his help in revising this manuscript. Our thanks also go to the editorial team of Social Movement Studies and to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Chilean National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research, FONDECYT Grant [1160303].

Notes on contributors

Rodrigo A. Asún

Rodrigo A. Asún is an Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Chile. His research focuses on understanding how social movements arise and are sustained over time, as well as the broad set of issues relating to quantitative research (from epistemology to the limits of applied quantitative research and psychometrics).

Karina Rdz-Navarro

Karina Rdz-Navarro is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Chile. In her research she focuses on linear and nonlinear structural equation modelling for continuous and categorical data, as well as their application to different areas of social research.

Claudia Zúñiga

Claudia Zúñiga is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Chile. Her research focuses primarily on the study of social identity and its relation to social mobilisation, and on equity in university education from a psychosocial perspective.

Winnifred Louis

Winnifred Louis is a Professor at the School of Psychology, University of Queensland. Her research focuses on the influence of identity and norms on social decision-making. She has studied this broad topic in contexts ranging from political activism and peace psychology to health and the environment.