Testing the identity synergy principle: Identity fusion promotes self and group sacrifice

Identity fusion is associated with outgroup trust and social exploration: Evidence for the fusion-secure base hypothesis

Identity fusion - a powerful form of group alignment - is a strong predictor of using violence to defend the ingroup. However, recent theorizing suggests, in the absence of outgroup threat, fusion may instead promote intergroup trust and cooperation. Across five studies we find evidence that fusion to a range of groups (e.g., country, football team) was consistently positively associated with a willingness to trust others generally, trust outgroup members, and social exploration. An internal meta-analysis indicated that fusion was more strongly associated with trust and social exploration, compared to several measures of group identification. These findings provide support for the fusion-secure base hypothesis (Personality and Social Psychology Review. 2023, 27(2), 107-127) and suggest that fusion has the potential to increase a willingness to interact with, and trust, outgroup members.

Does Identity Fusion Moderate the Motivational Primacy of the Individual Self?

Research indicates that the individual self lies closer to the motivational core of the self-concept than does the collective self. Four studies tested whether identity fusion alters the motivational primacy of the individual self. Three studies replicated primacy-paradigms and all manipulated whether the collective self was derived from an ingroup to which the participant felt more versus less fused. Despite the successful manipulation, the individual self remained primary: Even when the collective self was based on a fused ingroup, participants reacted more strongly to the imagined loss of their individual self, assigned greater subjective value to their individual self, attributed more of who they are to their individual self, and evidenced greater personal than collective self-focus. We discuss individual-self primacy in regard to Identity Fusion Theory’s agentic-personal self principle.

Strongly fused individuals feel viscerally responsible to self-sacrifice

Identity fusion is a visceral feeling of oneness that predicts extreme behaviour on behalf of the target of fusion. We propose that strongly fused individuals are characterized by feelings of visceral responsibility towards such target - unconditional, instinctive, and impulsive drive to care, protect and promote its well-being and interests - that motivates them to self-sacrifice. Two studies offered initial support when the target of fusion is an individual or a group (Studies 1a-1b). A final study added causal evidence that strongly fused learning that most ingroup members did not feel visceral responsibility towards the group expressed less willingness to self-sacrifice than those learning that ingroup members display high levels of visceral responsibility (Study 2). These findings offer novel evidence for the mechanisms underlying the effects of fusion on extreme behaviour on behalf of the target of fusion and the attenuation of its consequences.

The Fusion-Secure Base Hypothesis

Identity fusion is traditionally conceptualized as innately parochial, with fused actors motivated to commit acts of violence on out-groups. However, fusion's aggressive outcomes are largely conditional on threat perception, with its effect on benign intergroup relationships underexplored. The present article outlines the fusion-secure base hypothesis, which argues that fusion may engender cooperative relationships with out-groups in the absence of out-group threat. Fusion is characterized by four principles, each of which allows a fused group to function as a secure base in which in-group members feel safe, agentic, and supported. This elicits a secure base schema, which increases the likelihood of fused actors interacting with out-groups and forming cooperative, reciprocal relationships. Out-group threat remains an important moderator, with its presence "flipping the switch" in fused actors and promoting a willingness to violently protect the group even at significant personal cost. Suggestions for future research are explored, including pathways to intergroup fusion.

Indicators of Identity and Psychological Well-Being in Immigrant Population

Multiple research has indicated that group identity processes are critical to understanding the dynamics of psychological well-being linked to migration. However, few studies have analyzed the relationship between identity from different theoretical perspectives, and the mental health of migrants in the Latin-American context. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between several identity indicators such as ethnic identity, collective self-esteem, identity fusion (with the country of origin and the host country) simultaneously, and different dimensions of psychological well-being of Colombian migrants living in Chile. The sample consisted of 887 Colombian migrants, of whom 435 (49%) were men and 452 (51%) were women. Participants were residents of the cities of Arica (n=204; 23%), Antofagasta (n=469; 52.9%), and Santiago (n=214; 24.1%) in Chile. The results revealed by structural equation modeling indicate that collective self-esteem and ethnic identity show positive relationships with almost all dimensions of psychological well-being, while identity fusion with Colombia only showed a positive relationship with the dimension positive relationships and identity fusion with Chile only showed a positive relationship with the dimension autonomy. Implications and limitations of these results are discussed at the end.

Fusión de identidad: una revisión sistemática

El objetivo de la presente investigación fue realizar una revisión sistemática de los estudios empíricos que han reportado el uso de la teoría de fusión de identidad. Para esto, la revisión siguió los lineamientos y recomendaciones de la declaración PRISMA. Las bases de datos consultadas fueron Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Willey Online Library, EBSCO y JSTORE. En total, se revisaron 52 estudios empíricos, en español y en inglés, publicados entre los años 2009 y 2018, que cumplían con los criterios de selección. La mayoría de los estudios dan evidencia de que la fusión de identidad es un fuerte predictor de conductas extremas de sacrificio por el grupo, y también, se ha asociado generalmente a variables como la identificación con el grupo, el compromiso grupal, el apoyo social percibido, la lealtad incluso en condiciones de ostracismo, los sentimientos, afectos y emociones hacia el grupo, y la percepción de parentesco, entre otras. Al final se discuten sus implicaciones y limitaciones.

Motivational (con)fusion: Identity fusion does not quell personal self-interest

We question whether altruistic motivation links identity fusion and extreme self-sacrifice. We review two lines of research suggesting that the underlying motivation is plausibly egoistic.

Identity fusion "in the wild": Moving toward or away from a general theory of identity fusion?

Whitehouse's focus on two causes of identity fusion (evolution and shared experiences/biology) deepens understanding of these specific topics. While we applaud his analysis, in his efforts to elaborate these two causes, he has - perhaps unavoidably - produced a narrower conceptualization of identity fusion. This is unfortunate because it undermines his stated goal of developing a more general, encompassing theory.