Emotional consequences of collective action participation: Differentiating self-directed and outgroup-directed emotions

The present research examines the emotional and behavioral consequences of collective action participation. it demonstrates that positive and negative emotions can be experienced simultaneously as a result of collective action participation,yet it is important to distinguish outgroup-directed from self-directed emotions. results of two experiments (n = 71 and n = 101) that manipulated participation in collective action illustrate that whereas collective action participants experience more outgroup-directed anger and contempt,they feel more self-directed positive affect. furthermore,collective action participation predicted willingness to engage in moderate and radical collective actions in the future. these relations were mediated by outgroup-directed,but not by self-directed,emotions,suggesting that outgroup-directed rather than self-directed emotions play a crucial role in the maintenance of protest behavior. theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. © 2011 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.