O NLINE I MPULSE A CTIVISM AT A MNESTY I NTERNATIONAL Research - in - Progress

Social media have emerged as an important tool to spur political commitment, civic engagement, and different forms of political activism. Previous research characterizes online activism as very ad hoc and formed on political ties through spontaneous and temporal affinity networks. We extend this work by examining online activism through the theories of impulse behavior and social movements. We advance hypotheses on the relationship between the characteristics of petition and petition signing. The characteristics of petition that appear to be associated with online impulse activism include proximal referents, legitimacy, and violations of dignity. We theorize about a number of mediating variables, including social identity, perceived efficacy, and injustice. Future research will examine the role of the mediating variables between the characteristics of the petition and signing of petitions as part of a larger scale study involving nearly 40,000 Amnesty International members.