Perception of emotional climate in a revolution: Test of a multistage theory of revolution in the Tunisian context

Abstract

Participation in social movements and collective action depends upon people's capacity to perceive their societal context. We examined this question in the context of Arab Spring revolutions. In a classic theory of revolution highlighting the role of collective emotions, Brinton (1938) claimed that revolutions, far from chaos, proceed in an orderly sequence involving four stages: euphoria, degradation, terror, and restoration. The emotional climate (EC) as perceived by ordinary Tunisian citizens (2,699 women and 3,816 men) was measured during the 4 years of the Tunisian revolution. A quadratic pattern of perceived EC measures over time provided strong support to Brinton's model. In addition, three different analyses suggested the presence of four distinct stages in the evolution of perceived EC. Third, the socio-political developments in Tunisia during the four stages proved entirely consistent with both Brinton's theoretical model and the perceived EC indicators. Finally, social identification proved closely related to the temporal evolution of positive EC scores. In sum, data from this study not only lend support to the views put forth in an heretofore untested classic theory of revolution but also demonstrate that psychosocial measurements can validly monitor a major process of socio-political transformation.

Women's political participation and intrahousehold empowerment: Evidence from the Egyptian Arab Spring

“…Arguably, not all women were on the street, so it may well be the increased consciousness about women's fight, in more exposed regions, that had been able to trigger some progress at home. This mechanism relates to the social psychology literature, which points to the role of such an emotional climate on social sharing (Rimé et al, 2017) as well as on the idea that repression galvanizes action and increases identification with the movement (Ayanian and Tausch, 2016). It also connects to the literature on role models, as extensively discussed in the section 2.…”

Women's Political Participation and Intrahousehold Empowerment: Evidence from the Egyptian Arab Spring

“…19 Arguably, not all women were on the street, so it may well be the increased consciousness about women's fight, in more exposed regions, that had been able to trigger some progress at home. This mechanism relates to the social psychology literature, which points to the role of such an emotional climate on social sharing (Rimé et al, 2017) as well as on the idea that repression galvanizes action and increases identification with the movement (Ayanian and Tausch, 2016). It also connects to the literature on role models, as extensively discussed in the section 2.…”

“What do you think people feel?” Emotional climate during a pandemic: Adaptation and validation of a scale

“…One of the instruments for assessing emotional climate is the Emotional Climate Scale (ECS) of Páez et al (1997), used in several studies, especially in traumatic events caused by human actions that affect social groups (Páez et al, 1997;Techio et al, 2011), like terrorism (Páez et al, 2007) or in a revolution (Rimé et al, 2017). This scale has been less used in situations not directly caused by individuals or social groups, such as the pandemic, and, therefore, it seems important to proceed with its translation, adaptation, and validation to the Portuguese context.…”