Collective Action

Collective action refers to coordinated efforts undertaken by two or more individuals or groups to pursue shared goals or improve their collective circumstances. The concept holds a central place across the social sciences, including psychology, sociology, political science, anthropology and economics. It captures forms of organised behaviour ranging from social movements and community advocacy to public goods provision and institutional cooperation. The study of collective action typically explores the motivations, structures, dynamics and challenges that shape how groups mobilise and act together.

The Social Identity Model of Collective Action

A major contribution to the psychological study of collective action emerged from the work of Martijn van Zomeren, Tom Postmes and Russell Spears. After analysing more than 180 empirical studies, they proposed the Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA), integrating three dominant predictors: perceived injustice, perceived collective efficacy and social identity.
SIMCA is grounded in the principle that individuals respond not only to objective social conditions but also to subjective experiences of disadvantage. The model shows how these three predictor variables interact to influence the likelihood that individuals will participate in collective efforts to improve group outcomes.

Perceived Injustice

Perceived injustice has long been linked to relative deprivation theory (RDT), which emphasises the subjective experience of unfair disadvantage compared with relevant social groups. According to RDT, group-based comparisons may generate feelings of deprivation and associated emotions, particularly anger. Such emotional responses can heighten motivation to engage in collective action aimed at redressing perceived inequities.
Meta-analytic findings confirm that perceptions of injustice reliably predict engagement in collective action, although the strength of the motivational impact varies depending on context and individual dispositions.

Perceived Collective Efficacy

Beyond perceiving injustice, individuals must also believe that group-based action can successfully address the problem. This belief—referred to as collective efficacy—concerns confidence that coordinated efforts will achieve meaningful outcomes.
Research in diverse contexts demonstrates that individuals are more likely to participate in collective action when they believe their group is capable of effecting change. The shift from focusing on objective resources to subjective expectations marked an important development in understanding how mobilization occurs.

Social Identity

Drawing on social identity theory (SIT), SIMCA highlights the role of identifying with a group. Individuals seek positive social identities, and when their group is of low status or disadvantaged, they may be motivated to engage in collective action to improve the group’s position. SIT identifies three factors that influence this motivation: perceptions of group boundary permeability, the legitimacy of intergroup status differences and the stability of those status relations.
Meta-analyses confirm that social identity is a causal predictor of collective action and also functions as a bridge shaping perceptions of injustice and efficacy. Strong group identification enhances willingness to work collectively toward change.

Model Refinements and Extensions

Later scholarship sought to refine or extend SIMCA. The Encapsulation Model of Social Identity in Collective Action (EMSICA) proposes that perceived injustice and collective efficacy may themselves generate stronger social identity, suggesting an alternative causal pathway.
Other researchers have explored the relationship between collective action and intergroup contact, integrating SIMCA with contact hypothesis research. More recently, utopian thinking has been proposed as an antecedent of collective action. Utopian thinking helps individuals imagine alternative social arrangements, expanding perceived cognitive alternatives and potentially enhancing perceptions of injustice, efficacy or group identity.

Economic Perspectives on Collective Action

In economics, the study of collective action focuses on the cooperative provision of public goods, which are non-excludable and non-rival in consumption. This approach emphasises the challenges groups face when individual incentives do not align with collective goals due to issues such as externalities.
A landmark contribution in this field is Mancur Olson’s The Logic of Collective Action (1965), which analyses the difficulty of producing public goods when individuals can benefit without contributing.

Collective Action Problems

A collective action problem arises when individuals would all benefit from a shared effort, yet each has an incentive to free ride. Classic examples include the prisoner’s dilemma, the free rider problem and the tragedy of the commons. Solutions widely discussed include binding agreements, regulation, privatisation and assurance contracts, in which participants commit conditional contributions to a shared effort.

Exploitation of the Great by the Small

Olson also argued that rational individuals with greater resources may end up contributing disproportionately to public goods provision, while poorer individuals free ride. This claim is controversial because it highlights unequal burdens and raises questions about fairness, efficiency and the assumptions underpinning rational choice theory.

Institutional Design

Institutional structures can reduce coordination failures and encourage successful collective action. Examples include:

• Joint products: Linking private benefits to contributions toward public goods, such as tax incentives for charitable donations.
• Clubs: Exclusion mechanisms can transform a pure public good into an impure one, enabling sustainable provision.
• Federated structures: Smaller groups often cooperate more effectively, explaining why unions and charitable organisations adopt decentralised or tiered structures.

Philosophical Perspectives on Acting Together

Analytic philosophers have explored the nature of collective intentionality and what it means for individuals to act jointly. Significant contributions come from Michael Bratman, Margaret Gilbert and John Searle. These theorists analyse cases such as jointly performing an activity or coordinating actions toward shared aims.
Gilbert’s work, for instance, argues that collective action arises from joint commitments, a specific form of interpersonal obligation that binds participants to shared goals.