How Social Influences and Individual Differences Affect Online-Activism

Abstract: Traditional protest behaviours are motivated by social influences (e.g., Finkel & Opp, 1991), whereby individual differences moderate this effect (Bäck, Bäck, & Garcia-Albacete, 2013). With this experiment it is tested whether the same pathways apply to online activism. For this between-subject design, 75 young to middle-aged adults were tested on the traits of need to belong and rejection sensitivity. Following the exposure to either low (n = 34) or high (n = 41) social support, participants reacted upon petition appeals on a social network site. It was found that high social support enhanced the willingness to participate in online activism. However, rejection sensitivity in moderation of social support did not influence willingness to engage in online activism, whereas need to belong in moderation of social support affected willingness to engage in online activism. Implications of these findings are set in context, and future research possibilities are discussed.