UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE AWAKENING A SOCIAL CONSCIENCE: TOWARD A MODEL OF ACTIVIST IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By HEIDI J. HOLEMAN Norman, Oklahoma 2007 1 UMI Number: 3271225 UMI Microform 3271225 Copyright 2007 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 AWAKENING A SOCIAL CONSCIENCE: TOWARD A MODEL OF ACTIVIST IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY BY _______________________________ Rockey Robbins, Chair _______________________________ Denise Beesley _______________________________ Barbara Greene _______________________________ Nicole Judice-Campbell _______________________________ Terry Pace 2 © Copyright by HEIDI J. HOLEMAN 2007 All Rights Reserved. 3 This dissertation is dedicated to Carrie Barefoot Dickerson 1917-2006 She was a powerful activist and an inspiration to many. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank several people for their support and encouragement during the process of writing this work and my journey through graduate training: my advisor and friend, Rockey Robbins, provided needed idea development and moral support (and patiently read draft after draft); Lisa Frey encouraged me to pursue this line of inquiry and assured me it was a valid topic in my early days of uncertainty; Barbara Greene and Denise Beesley gave much needed support and guidance over the course of this project. Terry Pace and Cal Stoltenberg offered great opinions and were just fun to be around, in general. Amanda Kehrberg and Ann Zeigenhein provided much needed assistance with transcription and initial review of the interviews. I’d also like to thank Patti Ragan, Tina Gilbert, Lisa Leitten, and the Center for Great Apes, for showing me what it means to be an activist. I’d particularly like to thank my family and friends who offered their love and support and reminded me in countless ways that there was life outside of graduate school. I also offer my very grateful and heartfelt thanks to my partner and inspiration, Ty Kamm, for being exactly what I needed throughout this process. Thank you to all of you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 – Introduction 1 Background of problem 1 Statement of problem 3 Research questions 4 Chapter 2 – Review of the literature 5 Identity theory 5 Cross Racial Identity Model 10 The Downing and Roush Model of Feminist Identity Development 14 The Helms’ Womanist Model 17 Models of homosexual identity development 20 Summary of identity models 22 Table 1 – Stages of identity development 23 Identity and activism 25 Activism as conversion process 26 Limitations of the models and philosophical considerations 31 Chapter 3 – Methodology 35 Rationale for the research design 35 Method and sampling strategy 41 Participant characteristics 42 Data analysis 43 Chapter 4 – Introduction to the activists and layout of results 46 Activist biographies 47 Ben 47 Clara 47 Dallas 48 Jane 49 Jennifer 49 Jessica 49 Kate 50 v Lois 50 Robert 51 Sam 51 Trinity 52 Valerie 52 Table 2 – Participant Demographics 54 Chapter 5 – Antecedents to activism 55 Childhood experiences 55 Action in youth 56 Success at an early age 57 Parental support and encouragement 59 Childhood and youth education 65 Historical events 67 Evolution of beliefs and values 70 Socialization to activism 72 Summary of childhood and youth influences 74 Epiphanies 75 Ben 76 Clara 77 Dallas 78 Jane 79 Kate 80 Lois 81 Robert 82 Sam 83 Trinity 84 Valerie 85 Summary of epiphanies 87 Chapter summary 88 Table 3 – Childhood experiences 91 Chapter 6 – The beginnings of an activist identity 92 Defining activism 92 Summary of defining activism 99 The decision to act 100 The role of emotion as a goad to action 103 Summary of the decision to act 107 Learning to be an activist 109 Learning about the issues – content knowledge 109 vi Learning “how to do” activism – process knowledge 117 The role of mentors – collaborative learning 119 Summary of learning activism 123 Growing pains 124 Overcoming stridency 125 Managing conflict in close relationships 136 Summary of growing pains 143 The activist identity crisis 144 Valerie 145 Clara 147 Trinity 148 Summary of the activist identity crisis 149 Chapter summary 150 Table 4 – New activist identity experiences 152 Chapter 7 – The maturing activist identity 153 Deepening commitment and dedication 154 Separation and isolation 154 Tangible, physical costs 155 Criticism and confrontation 158 Summary of separation and isolation 163 Adaptation over the activist career 164 Coping with activism inspired emotions 165 Choosing optimism 175 Limiting responsibility for change 178 Moderating beliefs about others 180 Connecting activism and faith 185 Summary of adaptations 191 Summary of deepening commitment and dedication 193 Self-estimations of change over time 194 Changes in approach, philosophy, and worldview 194 Changes in personal growth, emotional reactions 200 Relational changes – improving relationships with 202 close others and the activist community Changes in understanding – seeing the complexity 207 Summary of self-estimations of change 210 Chapter summary 212 Table 5 – Maturing activist identity experiences 215 Chapter 8 – A model of activist identity development 216 A model of activist identity development 216 vii Pre-activist life 217 Decision to act 218 The budding activist identity 220 The maturing activist identity 223 An exploratory model 226 Comparison of models 229 Summary of the model and comparisons 236 Conversion and functional religion 237 Summary of conversion and functional religion 239 Prototypical stories and foregrounding difference 240 Summary of prototypical stories 244 Chapter summary 245 Chapter 9 – Conclusion 247 Research Summary 247 Implications and future research 249 Limitations of the research 253 Conclusion 254 References 256 Appendix A – Advice from the activists 268 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 – Stages of identity development 23 Table 2 – Participant Demographics 54 Table 3 – Childhood experiences 91 Table 4 – New activist identity experiences 152 Table 5 – Maturing activist identity experiences 215 ix ABSTRACT This study is a qualitative, phenomenological inquiry into the process of activist identity development. Specifically, the experience of identity change over time was examined in 12 animal protection and environmental activists to see if “prototypical stories” of activism exist, in order to determine the “essence” of becoming an activist. Three prototypical stories emerged from the data. In the first prototypical story, an individual becomes involved in activism at a young age, becomes strident about their cause, and then mellows somewhat with time, becoming an effective and congruent activist. In the second prototypical story, an individual becomes involved in activism later in life, experiencing their stridency as depression or anger held in, and then following the same course outlined above. The last prototypical story involves taking action, but without adopting the identity of an “activist.” In this story, individuals do many things that can clearly be categorized as activists, yet do not recognize themselves in that way. A Model of Activist Identity Development (MAID) is proposed having five stages: Contact, Commitment to Action, Stridency, Adaptation, and Deepened Understanding. These stages bear similarity to established models of identity change (e.g. Cross Model of Psychological Nigrescence, Downing and Roush model of feminist identity development). Implications and limitations of the research are also examined. x CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background of problem Pro-social behavior – volunteering and involvement in activist movements – is a popular activity in the United States. Every year approximately 85 million people volunteer for various causes throughout the United States (Independent Sector, 1999). They choose to volunteer their time, emotional energy, and personal resources. Many service organizations rely on an active volunteer base to sustain their efforts over time. Activism, which is primarily volunteer work, propels social reform and the passage of new legislation. Researchers have examined motivation for action (Clary & Snyder, 1999; Ferrari, Loftus, & Resek, 1999; Omoto & Snyder, 1995), predictors of action (Allen & Ferrand, 1999; Finkelstein, Penner, & Brannick, 2005; Greenslade & White, 2005), characteristics of activists (Franz & McClelland, 1994; Jones, 2002), how individuals “learn activism” (Durrenberger, 1997; Finger, 1994), and aspects that help people sustain within social activist networks over many years (Passy & Giugni, 2000; Passy & Giugni, 2001; Whittier, 1997). Yet no research has examined how people come to view themselves as activists. The purpose of this research is to more closely illuminate 1 the identity shift that occurs when a person comes to view herself or himself as an activist. Several identity researchers have researched and tested a process of identity development over the past three decades, specifically examining racial, feminist, and women’s identity development over time (Cross, 1971, 1978; Downing & Roush, 1985; Helms, 1990a, 1990b). These theorists have described a process of identity transformation that occurs when individuals are confronted