Archetypes of Advocates

Advocacy and activism have become frequent topics of recent research. In this study we sought to discover whether there are patterns of advocacy and to identify patterns so that advocates and activists might broaden their skills to increase effectiveness. Through engaging with 26 participants and using a conceptual framework of archetypes, findings revealed patterns of advocacy to be warm hearts, risk takers, liberators, path makers, rescuers, tempered radicals, and 9-5ers across faculty, staff, and students. Patterns were influenced by power, risk, and goal. Recommendations include individual, group, and institutional first- and second-order change interventions.