Global InformationIdentity fusion information
Identity fusion, a psychological construct rooted in social psychology and cognitive anthropology, is a form of alignment with groups in which members experience a visceral sense of oneness with the group. The construct relies on a distinction between the personal self (characteristics that make someone a unique person, such as height, age, or personality) and the social self (characteristics that align the person with various groups, such as common nationalities, interests, or motivations). As the name suggests, identity fusion involves the union of the personal and social selves. When fusion occurs, both the personal and social selves remain salient and influential but the boundaries between them become highly permeable. In addition, the theory proposes that fused persons come to regard other group members as "family" and develop strong relational ties to them as well as ties to the collective. Therefore, fused persons are not just bound to the collective; they are tied to the individual members of the collective.
The potency of the personal self and relational ties distinguish identity fusion from other forms of alignment with groups, such as "group identification", in which allegiance to the collective eclipses the personal self and relational ties to other group members. Because of this, the personal self and relational ties are not as involved in theories of group identification. Identity fusion theorizes that fusion measures should be more predictive of extreme pro-group behavior than previously proposed measures of identification. In fact, there is growing evidence of this. Measures of identity fusion are particularly powerful predictors of personally costly pro-group behaviors, including endorsement of extreme behaviors, such as fighting and dying for the group.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
- ^ Swann, W.B.; Gómez, Á.; Seyle, D. Conor; Morales, J. Francisco; Huici, C. (2009). "Identity fusion: The interplay of personal and social identities in extreme group behavior". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 96 (5): 995–1011. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.596.6883. doi:10.1037/a0013668. PMID 19379032.
- ^ Swann, W.B.; Gómez, Á.; Dovidio, J.F.; Hart, S.; Jetten, J. (2010-07-09). "Dying and Killing for One's Group". Psychological Science. 21 (8): 1176–1183. doi:10.1177/0956797610376656. PMID 20622141. S2CID 16751081.
- ^ Gómez, Á.; Brooks, M.L.; Buhrmester, M.D.; Vázquez, A.; Jetten, J.; Swann, W.B. (2011). "On the nature of identity fusion: Insights into the construct and a new measure". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 100 (5): 918–933. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.710.3290. doi:10.1037/a0022642. PMID 21355659.
- ^ Swann, W.B.; Jetten, J.; Gómez, A.; Whitehouse, H.; Bastian, B. (2012). "When group membership gets personal: A theory of identity fusion". Psychological Review. 119 (3): 441–456. doi:10.1037/a0028589. PMID 22642548.
- ^ Swann, W.B.; Buhrmester, M.D.; Gómez, A.; Jetten, J.; Bastian, B.; Vázquez, A.; Ariyanto, A.; Besta, T.; Christ, O. (2014). "What makes a group worth dying for? Identity fusion fosters perception of familial ties, promoting self-sacrifice". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 106 (6): 912–926. doi:10.1037/a0036089. PMID 24841096.
- ^ Swann, W.B.; Gómez, Á.; Buhrmester, M.D.; López-Rodríguez, L.; Jiménez, J.; Vázquez, A. (2014). "Contemplating the ultimate sacrifice: Identity fusion channels pro-group affect, cognition, and moral decision making". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 106 (5): 713–727. doi:10.1037/a0035809. PMID 24749820.
- ^ Whitehouse, H.; McQuinn, B.; Buhrmester, M.D.; Swann, W.B. (2014). "Brothers in arms: Libyan revolutionaries bond like family". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (20): 17783–17785. doi:10.1073/pnas.1416284111. PMC 4273349. PMID 25385591.
- ^ Besta, T.; Gomez, A.; Vazquez, A. (2014). "Readiness to deny group's wrongdoing and willingness to fight for its members: the role of Poles' identity fusion with the country and religious group". Current Issues in Personality Psychology. 1: 49–55. doi:10.5114/cipp.2014.43101.
- ^ Atran, S.; Sheikh, H.; Gomez, A. (2014). "Devoted actors sacrifice for close comrades and sacred cause". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (50): 17702–17703. doi:10.1073/pnas.1420474111. PMC 4273409. PMID 25472844.
- ^ Gomez, A; Vazquez, A (2015). "The power of 'feeling one' with a group: Identity fusion and extreme pro-group behaviours". International Journal of Social Psychology. 30 (3): 481–511. doi:10.1080/02134748.2015.1065089. S2CID 146308215.
- ^ Monahan, J. (2016). "The Individual Risk Assessment of Terrorism: Recent Developments". In LaFree, G.; Freilich, J.D. (eds.). The Handbook of the Criminology of Terrorism. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 520–534. ISBN 978-1-118-92395-5.