Valentino, Sara Elizabeth2016-12-022016-12-022016-12-01vt_gsexam:9333http://hdl.handle.net/10919/73542Kindness movements toward a kinder more compassionate world are proliferating worldwide. One of the key challenges facing these movements is attracting and sustaining members. This research identified a range of dispositional, motivational, and contextual factors significantly related to participation in a kindness movement initiated on the Virginia Tech campus after the tragic shootings on April 16, 2007: the AC4P Movement. Strongly resembling existing research on motivational functions served by volunteerism, the present research identified five motives for participation in kindness movements: social action, gratitude expression, social enhancement, impression management, and protective. Additionally, regression analysis identified a model with five significant predictors of participation: required participation, history of traumatic experience, belief that society is in danger, extroversion, and social action motivation. Findings are integrated within the context of Geller's (2016) model of empowerment.ETDIn CopyrightAC4Pprosocial behaviorkindness movementsocial movementmotivationparticipationwristbandsExploring the Dynamics of Participation in a Grassroots Kindness Movement: A case study of the Actively Caring for People MovementDissertation