The study of collective action among older people:a social psychological perspective

Abstract

This paper reports a research project about collective action among older people in the UK. The research aimed to investigate the social issues older people are concerned about, to identify the types of collective action that they are likely to take, and to examine perceived barriers to engaging in collective action. This work was framed within two social psychological theories, Identity Process Theory [1] and Social Representations Theory [2]. An innovative approach was adopted by incorporating the construct of subjective barriers. This article presents some findings derived from two studies of the project (focus groups and questionnaire). It is shown that older people perceive a need for social change for a wide variety of social issues. A re-definition of the concept of collective action is provided and the factors that can either facilitate or hinder willingness to participate in collective action are highlighted. This research contributed towards the development of a social psychological theory of collective action; extended the understanding of social psychological processes operating in older people’s identity structure and belief systems, and has implications for future development of social policy.

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