New York, Aug 21 (IANS): People who actively participate in demonstrations during social movements on behalf of those dissimilar to them do so out of their trust for outgroup peers and political environment of a country, a new study has found.

The political climate of a country fosters both trust and political engagement and this is particularly true in countries with well-functioning political institutions.

The new findings led by Hyungjun Suh and Heidi Reynolds-Stenson, researchers at the University of Arizona, included participants from around the world on issues related to human beliefs and values

"Trust in non-familiar people can be a key to explaining these kinds of participation. We notice a theoretical gap in previous literature, which has assumed the effect of trust to be context-free. Trust can add to explanations of movement participation, which is not adequately explained by other theories," Suh said in a statement.

The researchers explained that the current reality of micro-mobilisation swiftly organised efforts often propelled by social networking and digital technologies helps people to more readily sympathise with certain social movements and protest acts.

But it was most often in those countries whose governments were more open to political engagement and protest actions that had a more welcoming political environment that people actively engaged in supportive protest acts.