Collective angst and collective action for progressive city policies: study1

Paweł Adamowicz, the liberal mayor of Gdańsk, died on January 14, 2019, after being stabbed by a man who rushed onstage during a charity event. Three studies were carried out to analyze the predictors of willingness to engage in collective action for the support of the progressive city policies he initiated. In this study 1 (N = 214), the questionnaire, with a fixed order of scales, was administered online. Only inhabitants of Gdansk participated in this study. The sample was diverse, with all age ranges represented (18–24 years: 10.7%, 25–34: 29.4%, 35–44: 27.6%, 45–54: 11.2%, and 55 or older: 21%). After a short introduction that presented the study as research on the relationships among emotions, group processes, identity, and beliefs, participants were asked to answer questions related to collective angst, collective action, and perception of the motives of the attack. Collective angst was related to collective action intention. Group identification mediated this relation.