Abstract
Social psychological research on societal debates about potential social change (e.g., abortion, racial segregation) often focuses on those who take clear positions in these debates. Yet, little is known about the often invisible yet potentially influential group that experiences ambivalence in societal debates. Extending and integrating ambivalence and social change research, we explore the relation between social forces in societal debates and the experiences of ambivalence about social change within these debates. Thematic analysis of extensive interviews with 15 Dutch students experiencing ambivalence in a heated Dutch societal debate revealed that different social forces (e.g., interpersonal relations, groups people belong to, societal systems) facilitate felt ambivalence about potential social change. Moreover, this ambivalence was often experienced as feeling caught in a social crossfire. Our work contributes to a richer psychological understanding of ambivalence about potential social change and reveals the complexity of decision-making in the context of societal debates.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 147-159 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | European Journal of Social Psychology |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors would like to thank all the participants for agreeing to take part in this research and for their valuable contributions, all colleagues and friends for listening and/or commenting on our ideas at different points of this research project, and our research assistant Jasper F. Smit for transcribing five of the interviews.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Keywords
- felt ambivalence
- polarised debates
- social change
- societal debate