Which of the following best distinguishes the goals of social protest from those of political motive in the context of social psychology?

• A. Social protest and political motive both have the sole goal of supporting existing authority structures.
• B. Social protest is primarily concerned with economic gain, whereas political motive seeks to promote cultural traditions.
• C. Social protest aims to challenge and change societal norms or injustices, while political motive focuses on gaining or maintaining power within a political system.
• D. Social protest is unrelated to group dynamics, while political motive is only about individual behavior.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the key concepts involved—'social protest' and 'political motive'—within social psychology. Social protest typically involves collective actions aimed at challenging or changing societal norms, injustices, or inequalities.
2. Step 2: Recognize that political motive refers to the intentions or goals related to gaining, maintaining, or exercising power within a political system or structure.
3. Step 3: Compare the goals of social protest and political motive by focusing on their primary objectives: social protest seeks societal change, while political motive is about power dynamics within political institutions.
4. Step 4: Evaluate the provided options by matching them against these definitions, identifying which statement accurately reflects the distinction between challenging societal norms (social protest) and seeking political power (political motive).
5. Step 5: Conclude that the best distinction is that social protest aims to challenge and change societal norms or injustices, whereas political motive focuses on gaining or maintaining power within a political system.