Group identification and contribution guilt predict political consumerism

Participation in ideologically motivated boycotts and buycotts (i.e., political consumerism) represents an increasingly important form of collective action. However, relatively few studies have investigated this phenomenon, and little is known about its psychological predictors. We tested whether group-based psychological constructs—group identification and contribution guilt (i.e., guilt arising from the perception of having insufficient contribution to a cause)—predicted political consumerism in the context of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. Study 1, a large two-wave prospective study (N = 6014), found that identification with the radical faction of the protest movement and contribution guilt predicted future participation in boycotts and buycotts. Likewise, Study 2, a pre-registered daily diary study (N = 110), found that identification with the protest movement and contribution guilt regarding political consumerism significantly predicted actual political consumerism behavior. Together, this research provides ecologically valid evidence that group identification and contribution guilt are important predictors of political consumerism.