How do people maintain a sense of control when they realize the noncontingencies in their personal life and their
strong interdependence with other people? Why do individuals continue to act on overwhelming collective problems,
such as climate change, that are clearly beyond their personal control? Group-based control theory proposes that it is
social identification with agentic groups and engagement in collective action that serve to maintain and restore people’s
sense of control, especially when their personal control is threatened. As a consequence, group-based control may
enable people to act adaptively and stay healthy even when personal control seems futile. These claims are supported
by evidence showing increased in-group identification and group-based action intentions following reminders of low
personal control. Furthermore, these responses of identifying with agentic in-groups increase people’s perceived control
and well-being. This article succinctly presents group-based control theory and relevant empirical findings. It also
elaborates on how group-based control relates to other social-identity motives and how it may explain social phenomena.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:86007 |
| Date | 13 June 2023 |
| Creators | Fritsche, Immo |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
Page generated in 0.0015 seconds