A Conceptualisation of Help Avoidance as Motivated Inaction: Implications for Theory, Research and Society

This chapter zooms in on the strategic motives of help-avoidance, an intriguing yet under-researched phenomenon. Conceptualising this phenomenon as a particular form of inaction, I propose that help-avoidance is a strategic response to disadvantage that is motivated by identity concerns. I provide theoretical and empirical support for this proposition by building on sociological theory on dominance and resistance, intergroup helping, and contemporary social psychological theories. Specifically, I demonstrate that the presence of different audiences affects whether inaction is the strategy of choice and that inaction is moderated by social identification. By analysing inaction from a social identity perspective, researchers are able to determine whether inaction reflects identity performance, rather than indifference, laziness, or incompetence. The chapter highlights the adverse effects of the latter attributions in particular for achieving pressing societal goals. I conclude that empirical evidence is available to support the main propositions concerning motivated inaction, however, systematic insights into the phenomenon are lacking. More research into motivated inaction as well as a more coherent embedding of the phenomenon with literatures on categorisation, empowerment, and collective action are needed in order to advance our theoretical understanding of group members’ responses to disadvantage.