Collective Futures: How Projections About the Future of Society Are Related to Actions and Attitudes Supporting Social Change

We identified the active ingredients in people’s visions of society’s future (“collective futures”) that could drive political behavior in the present. In eight studies (N = 595), people imagined society in 2050 where climate change was mitigated (Study 1), abortion laws relaxed (Study 2), marijuana...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPersonality & social psychology bulletin Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 523 - 539
Main Authors Bain, Paul G., Hornsey, Matthew J., Bongiorno, Renata, Kashima, Yoshihisa, Crimston, Charlie R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.04.2013
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Adult
Attitude
Attitudes
Beneficence
Climate Change
Communication
Conservation
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Forecasting
Future
Humans
Intention
Male
Middle Aged
Morality
Motivation
Muslims
Political behavior
Politics
Projection
Religion
Social Change
Social conditions & trends
Social sciences
Values
Visualization
Young Adult
social issues
stereotype content
benevolence
social change
future
religion
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Summary:We identified the active ingredients in people’s visions of society’s future (“collective futures”) that could drive political behavior in the present. In eight studies (N = 595), people imagined society in 2050 where climate change was mitigated (Study 1), abortion laws relaxed (Study 2), marijuana legalized (Study 3), or the power of different religious groups had increased (Studies 4-8). Participants rated how this future society would differ from today in terms of societal-level dysfunction and development (e.g., crime, inequality, education, technology), people’s character (warmth, competence, morality), and their values (e.g., conservation, self-transcendence). These measures were related to present-day attitudes/intentions that would promote/prevent this future (e.g., act on climate change, vote for a Muslim politician). A projection about benevolence in society (i.e., warmth/morality of people’s character) was the only dimension consistently and uniquely associated with present-day attitudes and intentions across contexts. Implications for social change theories, political communication, and policy design are discussed.
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ISSN:0146-1672
1552-7433
DOI:10.1177/0146167213478200