From System Justification To System Condemnation

When and how will individuals accept or attempt to change systems that subordinate them? What determines whether acts against power hierarchies are considered appropriate? Recent research suggests that individuals will justify and maintain systems that subordinate them (Jost & Banaji, 1994), yet I suggest that certain boundary conditions predict when and how individuals will no longer accept their place in such systems. I propose a model that examines how multiple factors---a sense of power (Keltner, Gruenfeld, & Anderson, 2003), emotions associated with power (Kemper, 1984; Tiedens, 2001a), and perceptions of the system's legitimacy (Tajfel & Turner, 1986)---predict when those in low power will act against authority or when they will act to justify and maintain such systems. Results from three experiments indicate that all three factors influence individuals' attempts to change systems of authority. Specifically, an increased sense of power led to increased non-normative actions against a system; emotions associated with high power led to increased overt and non-normative actions while low power emotions led to increased covert actions; and perceptions of the illegitimacy of the system led to normative attempts to change the system. Implications for social movement, social psychological and organizational theories are discussed, as are implications for both managers and those who are attempting to make changes within organizations.