Why People Enter and Embrace Violent Groups

Exploring the origins of identity fusion: Shared emotional experience activates fusion with the group over time

Identity fusion is a visceral feeling of oneness with a group, known to strongly motivate extreme pro-group behaviour. However, the evidence on its causes is currently limited, primarily due to the prevalence of cross-sectional research. To address this gap, this study analysed the evolution of fusion in response to a massive collective ritual, Korrika-a race in support of the Basque language-, over three time periods: before (n = 748) and immediately following participation (n = 402), and 7 weeks thereafter (n = 273). Furthermore, we explored the potential mediating roles of two key factors: perceived emotional synchrony, a sense of emotional unity among participants that emerges during collective rituals, and kama muta (moved by love), an unexplored emotion in relation to fusion, which arises from feelings of shared essence. The proportion of fused participants increased significantly after participation and remained stable for at least 7 weeks. Perceived emotional synchrony and kama muta apparently explained the effect of participants' behavioural involvement in the ritual on subsequent fusion, but only among those who were not previously fused with Korrika participants. We conclude that emotional processes during collective rituals play a fundamental role in the construction of identity fusion.

Why Is It so Difficult to Investigate Violent Radicalization?

Imagine that you are a researcher interested in disentangling the underlying mechanisms that motivate certain individuals to self-sacrifice for a group or an ideology. Now, visualize that you are one of a few privileged that have the possibility of interviewing people who have been involved in some of the most dramatic terrorist attacks in history. What should you do? Most investigations focused on terrorism do not include empirical data and just a handful of fortunate have made face-to-face interviews with these individuals. Therefore, we might conclude that most experts in the field have not directly met the challenge of experiencing studying violent radicalization in person. As members of a research team who have talked with individuals under risk of radicalization, current, and former terrorists, our main goal with this manuscript is to synopsize a series of ten potential barriers that those interested in the subject might find when making fieldwork, and alternatives to solve them. If all the efforts made by investigators could save the life of a potential victim, prevent an individual from becoming radicalized, or make him/her decide to abandon the violence associated with terrorism, all our work will have been worthwhile.

Positive Social Interaction and Psychological Kinship Mediate the Effect of Identity Fusion on Psychological Well-Being in South-South Migrants

The present study provides evidence of how positive social interaction and the perception of psychological kinship are mechanisms by which identity fusion with the host country is associated with the psychological well-being of Venezuelan migrants in Chile. The sample consisted of 323 Venezuelan migrants, of whom 147 (45.5%) were men. The participants were residents of the city of Santiago, Chile. The variables assessed were psychological well-being, identity fusion with host country, positive social interaction, and psychological kinship. Structural equation modeling was performed to estimate the proposed mediation model. The estimation method used was robust weighted least squares estimation. The first model showed that people who felt more fused with the host country had higher levels of psychological well-being. On the other hand, the second estimated model indicated that both positive social interaction and psychological kinship fully mediate the relationship between identity fusion with the host country and immigrants’ psychological well-being. It is not the mere sensation of feeling merged with the host country that increases the psychological well-being of migrants, but rather it is the positive social interactions and feeling that members of the host country are like family that are the components that link the fusion with the host country and the psychological well-being of Venezuelan migrants in Chile.

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.