Social justice and psychology: What is, and what should be.

Abstract

This article proposes that all psychologists—and all psychologies—are innately concerned with justice, and yet there is no consensually defined discipline of psychology, and no consensual understanding of social justice. Adopting an intergroup and identity-based model of what is and what should be, we will describe the mechanisms whereby identities and perceptions of justice are formed, contested, and changed over time. We will argue that psychological research and practice have implications for social justice even where—and perhaps especially when—these are not made explicit. Psychology is considered as the product of diverse groups with distinct and evolving identities, and with differential access to resources and power, which dynamically contest different normative perceptions of justice.

The “Activist Identity” and Activism across Domains: A Multiple Identities Analysis

“…The present data invite consideration by scholars of collective action of the constellation of identities which define collective actors (Louis, Mavor, La Macchia, & Amiot, ). If some identities reinforce each other, while some conflict, issues of norm and identity consistency vs diversity, and empowerment versus marginalization, are of strong theoretical interest.…”

The Volatility of Collective Action: Theoretical Analysis and Empirical Data

“…These relationships also have implications for the volatility of collective action because, in addition to one set of opinion-based group identities for an issue, there are many other superordinate, subgroup, and intermediate-level identities that form and jostle each other in creating intersectionalities: regional, religious, professional, and so on. Each individual thus may have a unique constellation of identities (Louis, Mavor, La Macchia, & Amiot, 2014), and irregular clusters within networks based on identities may create powerful forces that shape collective action. When powerful groups are able to shape the inclusive identities like nation and religion in their own image, this would promote internalization of their politicized action to defend any one aspect of their privilege or the status quo, and, at the same time, it would function to make internalization of any social-change identities more difficult and more likely to be compartmentalized.…”

Crowd Behaviour and Collective Action

“…the social and situational dynamics of particular instances of protest and mass representation). At both levels, social identities-which should be considered as plural, nested, and interactive (see Louis et al, 2016 ;Louis, Mavor, La Macchia, & Amiot, 2014 )-have been shown to bind individuals' beliefs, intentions, and behaviour to each other and to those of their groups. Social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979 ) will thereby continue to provide a frame within and between (what we hope will be) ever more temporally and contextually sensitive empirical models of collective action.…”