We sought to identify the mechanisms that cause strongly fused individuals (those who have a powerful, visceral feeling of oneness with the group) to make extreme sacrifices for their group. A large multinational study revealed a widespread tendency for fused individuals to endorse making extreme sacrifices for their country. Nevertheless, when asked which of several groups they were most inclined to die for, most participants favored relatively small groups, such as family, over a large and extended group, such as country (Study 1). To integrate these findings, we proposed that a common mechanism accounts for the willingness of fused people to die for smaller and larger groups. Specifically, when fused people perceive that group members share core characteristics, they are more likely to project familial ties common in smaller groups onto the extended group, and this enhances willingness to fight and die for the larger group. Consistent with this, encouraging fused persons to focus on shared core characteristics of members of their country increased their endorsement of making extreme sacrifices for their country. This pattern emerged whether the core characteristics were biological (Studies 2 and 3) or psychological (Studies 4-6) and whether participants were from China, India, the United States, or Spain. Further, priming shared core values increased the perception of familial ties among fused group members, which, in turn, mediated the influence of fusion on endorsement of extreme sacrifices for the country (Study 5). Study 6 replicated this moderated mediation effect whether the core characteristics were positive or negative. Apparently, for strongly fused persons, recognizing that other group members share core characteristics makes extended groups seem "family like" and worth dying for.

Societal inequality has been found to harm the mental and physical health of its members and undermine overall social cohesion. Here, we tested the hypothesis that economic inequality is associated with a wish for a strong leader in a study involving 28 countries from five continents (Study 1, N = 6,112), a study involving an Australian community sample (Study 2, N = 515), and two experiments (Study 3a, N = 96; Study 3b, N = 296). We found correlational (Studies 1 and 2) and experimental (Studies 3a and 3b) evidence for our prediction that higher inequality enhances the wish for a strong leader. We also found that this relationship is mediated by perceptions of anomie, except in the case of objective inequality in Study 1. This suggests that societal inequality enhances the perception that society is breaking down (anomie) and that a strong leader is needed to restore order (even when that leader is willing to challenge democratic values).

Sociologists coined the term “anomie” to describe societies that are characterized by disintegration and deregulation. Extending beyond conceptualizations of anomie that conflate the measurements of anomie as ‘a state of society’ and as a ‘state of mind’, we disentangle these conceptualizations and develop an analysis and measure of this phenomenon focusing on anomie as a perception of the ‘state of society’. We propose that anomie encompasses two dimensions: a perceived breakdown in social fabric (i.e., disintegration as lack of trust and erosion of moral standards) and a perceived breakdown in leadership (i.e., deregulation as lack of legitimacy and effectiveness of leadership). Across six studies we present evidence for the validity of the new measure, the Perception of Anomie Scale (PAS). Studies 1a and 1b provide evidence for the proposed factor structure and internal consistency of PAS. Studies 2a-c provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Finally, assessing PAS in 28 countries, we show that PAS correlates with national indicators of societal functioning and that PAS predicts national identification and well-being (Studies 3a & 3b). The broader implications of the anomie construct for the study of group processes are discussed.

Abstract. Collective nostalgia for the good old days of the country thrives across the world. However, little is known about the social psychological dynamics of this collective emotion across cultures. We predicted that collective nostalgia is triggered by collective angst as it helps people to restore a sense of in-group continuity via stronger in-group belonging and out-group rejection (in the form of opposition to immigrants). Based on a sample (N = 5,956) of individuals across 27 countries, the general pattern of results revealed that collective angst predicts collective nostalgia, which subsequently relates to stronger feelings of in-group continuity via in-group belonging (but not via out-group rejection). Collective nostalgia generally predicted opposition to immigrants, but this was subsequently not related to in-group continuity.

Threats to masculinity can trigger compensatory mechanisms such as risk-taking, aggression, or disparagement of gender atypical others. In Study 1 (N ϭ 76) we tested whether threat to men's agentic self (information about the level of testosterone) influences men's (a) attitudes toward parental duties, and (b) their support for gender equality. Polish men (but not women) whose gender identity was threatened manifested more traditional attitudes toward parental duties, were more willing to endorse stereotypical gender roles, and showed less support for gender equality and less willingness to support collective egalitarian actions. In Study 2 (N ϭ 313) we found that agency is related to gender system justification in men, suggesting a potential mediator of the effects related to compensatory mechanisms evoked by a gender identity threat among men. This was confirmed in Study 3 (N ϭ 131), where participants read a short scientific text either (a) emphasizing the existence of stereotypical gender differences in terms of agency and communality, or (b) claiming that there are no such differences. Results indicated that in the "no differences" condition, men (but not women) showed lower acceptance of gender inequality and a greater willingness to engage in domestic activities. This effect was mediated by participants' self-perceived agency.

Precarious manhood beliefs portray manhood, relative to womanhood, as a social status that is hard to earn, easy to lose, and proven via public action. Here, we present cross-cultural data on a brief measure of precarious manhood beliefs (the Precarious Manhood Beliefs scale [PMB]) that covaries meaningfully with other cross-culturally validated gender ideologies and with country-level indices of gender equality and human development. Using data from university samples in 62 countries across 13 world regions ( N = 33,417), we demonstrate: (1) the psychometric isomorphism of the PMB (i.e., its comparability in meaning and statistical properties across the individual and country levels); (2) the PMB’s distinctness from, and associations with, ambivalent sexism and ambivalence toward men; and (3) associations of the PMB with nation-level gender equality and human development. Findings are discussed in terms of their statistical and theoretical implications for understanding widely-held beliefs about the precariousness of the male gender role.

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Identity fusion is a powerful visceral feeling of oneness with the group. Dozens of studies have demonstrated that identity fusion is a powerful predictor of endorsement of extreme behavior for the group. However, most research has been conducted with Spanish and/or North-American participants, and focused on the country as the target group. participants and procedureTwo correlational studies were conducted with Polish participants, using measures of identity fusion, group identification, willingness to fight and die for ingroup members and readiness to deny group's wrongdoing. resultsWe replicate and extend previous findings by showing that fusion with the country also predicts endorsement of extreme pro-ingroup behaviors with Polish participants (Study 1). Interestingly, fusion with religious group predicts willingness to endorse pro-ingroup behaviors for the religion they practice (Study 2). In addition, the present research shows that strongly fused participants display high levels of readiness to deny the group's wrongdoing, when the target group is the country (Study 1) or religious group (Study 2). conclusionsThese findings replicate and extend previous research and are a valuable contribution to the identity fusion theory. key words social identity; identity fusion; extremism; attitudes Tomasz Besta 1·A