Effects of Personal Relevance and Consensus Information on Feminist Self-Identification

Past research has identified several factors that contribute to the likelihood of a person self-identifying as a feminist. However, although prior work points to the importance of the perceived relevancy of the feminist movement and the public\u27s consensus about it, previous research has not looked at these two factors specifically. Using an experimental methodological approach, the current study had participants read a news article about feminism that was either low or high in personal relevancy, followed by exposure to comments supposedly left by previous readers that suggested most others viewed feminism positively or negatively, after which participants reported to what extent they identify as a feminist. The results indicated that neither perceived relevance nor consensus information significantly affected feminist self-identification, although manipulation checks suggested that the independent variables were only partially successful in generating their intended effects. Exploratory analyses suggested that consensus information may have an effect on feminist self-identification for individuals possessing low levels of knowledge about the feminist movement. This study laid the groundwork for future research intended to identify the factors that promote and inhibit feminist self-identification