Regulatory Framing and Collective Action: The Interplay of Individual Self-Regulation and Group Behavior

Two studies examined the relations between regulatory focus and collective action. In Study 1, undergraduate women expressed stronger action intentions when they were primed to consider prevention (ought-self) self-discrepancies than promotion (ideal-self) self-discrepancies, suggesting that collective action is more likely to occur when individuals are prevention-rather than promotion-focused. In Study 2, however, prevention-focused women expressed stronger action intentions in response to security framing, whereas promotion-focused women expressed stronger action intentions in response to achievement framing. This suggests that the relative disinterest in collective action among promotion-focused individuals can be overcome with the appropriate promotion-focused framing. Implications for analyses of both collective action and regulatory focus are discussed.