Catalyzing social change: Does concentration encourage action?
Countless social problems demand solutions, from climate change and gun control to poverty and systemic racism. But while some of these problems inspire action (e.g., “Black Lives Matter” and “Me Too” movements), most fail to gain traction or inspire new policy. Why do some problems garner more atte...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9797062/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1828083729389584384 |
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| author | Jonah Berger Joshua Conrad Jackson Ceren Kolsarici |
| author_facet | Jonah Berger Joshua Conrad Jackson Ceren Kolsarici |
| author_sort | Jonah Berger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Countless social problems demand solutions, from climate change and gun control to poverty and systemic racism. But while some of these problems inspire action (e.g., “Black Lives Matter” and “Me Too” movements), most fail to gain traction or inspire new policy. Why do some problems garner more attention and response? We suggest that the relative timing of related events may play an important role. Specifically, action may be more likely when related events are concentrated in time. A multi-method investigation tests this possibility. Study 1 borrows a modeling strategy from the economics and marketing literatures to examine a particularly important domain: gun control. Analysis of over 40 years of gun control legislation finds that, even after controlling for the frequency of mass shootings, bills are more likely to be proposed (and passed) when shootings are concentrated in time. Study 2 further tests concentration’s causal impact and demonstrates that concentration increases support against sexual assault. These findings illustrate how a modeling approach commonly used to study advertising goodwill can be applied to a broader set of situations, suggest why some social problems are more likely to catalyze action, and shed light on drivers of social movements and collective action. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:12:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f2b816277c8641a4b23bbf138cc35bb6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:12:27Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-f2b816277c8641a4b23bbf138cc35bb62023-01-01T05:32:19ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-011712Catalyzing social change: Does concentration encourage action?Jonah BergerJoshua Conrad JacksonCeren KolsariciCountless social problems demand solutions, from climate change and gun control to poverty and systemic racism. But while some of these problems inspire action (e.g., “Black Lives Matter” and “Me Too” movements), most fail to gain traction or inspire new policy. Why do some problems garner more attention and response? We suggest that the relative timing of related events may play an important role. Specifically, action may be more likely when related events are concentrated in time. A multi-method investigation tests this possibility. Study 1 borrows a modeling strategy from the economics and marketing literatures to examine a particularly important domain: gun control. Analysis of over 40 years of gun control legislation finds that, even after controlling for the frequency of mass shootings, bills are more likely to be proposed (and passed) when shootings are concentrated in time. Study 2 further tests concentration’s causal impact and demonstrates that concentration increases support against sexual assault. These findings illustrate how a modeling approach commonly used to study advertising goodwill can be applied to a broader set of situations, suggest why some social problems are more likely to catalyze action, and shed light on drivers of social movements and collective action.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9797062/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Jonah Berger Joshua Conrad Jackson Ceren Kolsarici Catalyzing social change: Does concentration encourage action? PLoS ONE |
| title | Catalyzing social change: Does concentration encourage action? |
| title_full | Catalyzing social change: Does concentration encourage action? |
| title_fullStr | Catalyzing social change: Does concentration encourage action? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Catalyzing social change: Does concentration encourage action? |
| title_short | Catalyzing social change: Does concentration encourage action? |
| title_sort | catalyzing social change does concentration encourage action |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9797062/?tool=EBI |
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