Psychological research indicates that much of human social behavior is regulated by the self and motivated by self-interest. However, the human species thrives, in part, because of sophisticated group functioning in which people put immediate self-interests aside temporarily to pursue broader collective goals. Theory and research regarding the motivational underpinnings of collective action have yet to consider fully how the self is implicated in behavior that places broader social concerns over immediate self-interest. If the self drives a great deal of human social behavior and is driven by self-interest, how could the self be mobilized to pursue collective goals? This research examines this question in the context of an expected natural disaster, the 2010 Fargo, North Dakota flood. Specifically, this research offers a shifting self model that suggests that the self-concept is flexible such that a collective threat (the expected flood) triggers broader conceptions of self to regulate behavior in the service of collective goals. Specifically, it is predicted that the prospect of a natural disaster that threatens a community will cause people to define themselves in terms of group membership (interdependent self-construal) instead of unique identity (independent self-construal). Furthermore, this heightened sense of interdependent self-construal is expected to increase community engagement (e.g., volunteering to put out sandbags, which will take place whether the flood occurs or not) which will in turn lead to a number of positive psychological states (e.g., increased feelings of self-esteem). To test these predictions, participants from the flood threatened community and participants from an unthreatened community will complete measures of perceived collective threat, self-definition (independent and interdependent self-construal), community engagement (e.g., volunteering), and other related psychological states (e.g., self-esteem, meaning) before the expected flood, during the time of the expected flood, and shortly after the expected flood. If a severe collective threat impacts self-definition as predicted, then participants in the threatened community should define themselves in interdependent terms to a greater extent than participants in unthreatened communities. Further, within the flood threatened community, the more participants perceive the flood as a serious threat to the community, the more they should define themselves in interdependent terms. In addition, if this shift in self-definition motivates collective action, level of interdependent self-construal should predict level of community engagement within the threatened community. If there is no flood, self-evaluations are expected to return to baseline levels once it is clear that no flood will occur.
This research will provide a deeper understanding of how individuals are motivated to act as a collective, putting aside their own immediate personal concerns in order to effectively confront a broader community threat. Communities and nations face a number of threats (e.g., natural disasters, crime, climate change) that require individuals to work together as a collective. Thus, any gained knowledge on the psychology of community engagement may prove vital for cities, government agencies, and other organizations wishing to inspire people to give of themselves to help the common good.