Neighbor Influence and the Public Display of Rainbow Flags

• In Event: 20861 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 3: Drivers and Barriers to Movement Participation

Abstract

With the growing acceptance of diverse sexual orientations, the display of rainbow flags has become a common practice to express LGBTQ+ support. What makes individuals publicly express support for the rights of sexual minorities beyond private approval? This paper explores whether social influence among neighbors shapes the public display of rainbow flags on private windows and balconies by conducting an extensive field observation of 135,202 residents in the city of Bern in Switzerland. We construct models that assess the degree of spatial clustering of flag behavior at facades and buildings, relative to the expected level by random chance. We find that (i) individuals are more likely to display rainbow flags if close neighbors in the building have already done so; (ii) rainbow flags appear more frequently with ideologically similar flags; and (iii) an excess at both ends of the flag distribution at the building level evidences complex contagion, where an initially committed minority creates a self-reinforcing dynamic, lowering the risks for the rest and thus explaining the large variation of flag behavior found among similar neighborhoods. These findings suggest that the successful translation of private attitudes into public action is often achieved through spatially structured social influence.

Authors

• Dominic Amstutz, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Jaemin Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong