RESUMO
Participation in social movements and collective action depends upon people's capacity to perceive their societal context. We examined this question in the context of Arab Spring revolutions. In a classic theory of revolution highlighting the role of collective emotions, Brinton (1938) claimed that revolutions, far from chaos, proceed in an orderly sequence involving four stages: euphoria, degradation, terror, and restoration. The emotional climate (EC) as perceived by ordinary Tunisian citizens (2,699 women and 3,816 men) was measured during the 4 years of the Tunisian revolution. A quadratic pattern of perceived EC measures over time provided strong support to Brinton's model. In addition, three different analyses suggested the presence of four distinct stages in the evolution of perceived EC. Third, the socio-political developments in Tunisia during the four stages proved entirely consistent with both Brinton's theoretical model and the perceived EC indicators. Finally, social identification proved closely related to the temporal evolution of positive EC scores. In sum, data from this study not only lend support to the views put forth in an heretofore untested classic theory of revolution but also demonstrate that psychosocial measurements can validly monitor a major process of socio-political transformation.
