Social media influencers can increase collective political beliefs and actions: findings from experiments and a quasi-experimental field study.

The belief in the capabilities of one's own group is crucial for joining collective action aimed at addressing large-scale societal crises like climate change. Drawing from the two-step flow of communication theory and behavioral models of collective action, we conducted two experimental studies and...

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Publicado en:Human Communication Research Vol. 52; no. 3; pp. 147 - 161
Autores principales: Merz, Pascal, Sikorski, Christian von
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Jun2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jun2026
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      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
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        10.1093/hcr/hqaf024
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        atl: Social media influencers can increase collective political beliefs and actions: findings from experiments and a quasi-experimental field study.
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        au:
          Merz, Pascal
          Sikorski, Christian von
        affil:
          Department of Psychology, RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Landau, Germany
          Department of Communication, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
      su:
        Collective action
        Political attitudes
        Social bonds
        Human behavior models
        Digital media
        Activism
        Social network theory
        Influencer marketing
      sug:
        subj:
          Collective action
          Political attitudes
          Social bonds
          Human behavior models
          Digital media
          Activism
          Social network theory
          Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals
          Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling
          Influencer marketing
      keyword:
        belief change
        climate change
        collective action
        collective response efficacy
        copyrightHolder:International Communication Association
        copyrightYear:2026
        fluid flow
        inLanguage:en
        opinion leader
        parasocial relationship
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqaf024
        social media
        social media influencers
        belief change
        climate change
        collective action
        collective response efficacy
        copyrightHolder:International Communication Association
        copyrightYear:2026
        fluid flow
        inLanguage:en
        opinion leader
        parasocial relationship
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqaf024
        social media
        social media influencers
      ab: The belief in the capabilities of one's own group is crucial for joining collective action aimed at addressing large-scale societal crises like climate change. Drawing from the two-step flow of communication theory and behavioral models of collective action, we conducted two experimental studies and an innovative quasi-experimental field study (total N  = 2,960). Across these studies, influencer messages increased collective response efficacy beliefs and political action intentions, particularly among followers with strong parasocial ties. Moreover, repeated exposure to an influencer's message reinforced these effects. Our research underscores the potential of influencers in mobilizing collective political action within digital media environments.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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