Efficacy and Action: How Targeted Messages Influence Support of Social Advocacy Organizations

Scholars widely agree that to mobilize individuals to action, it is vital that interest groups persuade them of the efficacy of participation. Despite firmly establishing the relationship between efficacy and action, research tells us surprisingly little about what kind of messaging most effectively evokes feelings of efficacy. To address this gap in the literature, we conduct a pair of survey experiments, each with three manipulations. The experiments present messages by fictitious advocacy organizations that emphasize the individual (action by an individual can produce change), the identity group (action by a specific identity group can produce change), or the organization (action by our organization can political change). Each message is designed to increase self-efficacy, group efficacy, or organizational efficacy, respectively. We conduct a two-stage analysis to determine first whether each message is able to increase efficacy, and then whether those feelings translate to behavioral support of the campaign. We find that while motivational messages often increase the intent to support a campaign, they only induce behavioral change in limited contexts.