UCLA

As the identity of people of color (PoC) continues to morph amidst demographic change in the U.S., its role in galvanizing collective action amongst racial minorities can take shape in myriad ways. The potential for its effects is especially broad among Latinx and Asian Americans, who are not commonly considered the group’s prototype and themselves express doubt about their membership in the group. The present research seeks to understand how people act collectively on behalf of a group, without presuming their membership in it, and argues that the suspension of assumption is crucial for expanding theorization and measurement of political behavior amongst minority group members. Namely, I argue that factors asides from direct group identification and subsequent group-based emotions may better explain collective action intentions when a group category’s definition is in flux. I do so by synthesizing insights from the literatures on collective action and allyship (action on behalf of ingroups and outgroups, respectively), to design three studies of collective action intentions. I find evidence reframing the PoC category as more expansive bolsters identification and consequent experiences of group-based emotions amongst Asian Americans, I do not find the same pattern for Latinx Americans. In line with my expectations, feelings of solidarity with PoC promoted the experience of group-based emotions and consequent collective action more so than PoC identity centrality. Notably, and counter to expectations, this effect extended beyond Latinx and Asian Americans to Black Americans—the prototypical racial group of people of color. The present findings suggest that while direct group identification may promote collective action on a group’s behalf, feelings of solidarity can be more powerful, and inclusive of group members who may feel less of a claim to group identity but nonetheless spurred to act for social change.