Title: Collective Action: Definition, Theory, Logic & Problems - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com
Headings: Collective Action: Definition, Theory, Logic & Problems
Collective Action: Definition, Theory, Logic & Problems
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Collective Action Definition and Variety
Theories
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Content: Another concept Olson suggested was that minorities could compel the majority to give into their interests in a democracy. The majority often fails to act to change the status quo because of poor incentives. The minority is strongly motivated to act because incentives for them are stronger. Both of these concepts broke with the conventional wisdom of the day. It used to be assumed that people always acted on their own interests, and that the majority always ruled over the minority in a democracy. In the social sciences, Martijn van Zomeren, Tom Postmes, and Russell Spears conducted a study of previous research on collective action in 2008. The terms of the study concerned a social identity model of collective action (SIMCA), with three key concepts examined through the literature. These three concepts were perceived injustice, efficacy, and identity. Injustice is how fairly or unfairly individuals feel their group is being treated by institutions. Efficacy examines whether or not people feel they can bring about change.