Identity Fusion

Buhrmester, Michael D.; Swann, William B.

doi:10.1002/9781118900772.etrds0172

Cited by 13 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Sports fandom, particularly football, is an especially relevant context in which to investigate the relationship between fusion and extreme pro-group behaviours, such as physical violence because: (a) it appears globally; (b) there is substantial variation in behaviour among fans, e.g. between so called ‘scarfers’ and ‘hooligans’; (c) it extends previous research on the relationship between identification and outgroup hostility in sports fans (Donahue and Wann, 2009; Wann et al, 1999); and (d) it extends previous fusion research on military, paramilitary and radical groups (Buhrmester and Swann, 2015).…”

Section: Perspectives On Fan Violencesupporting

confidence: 70%

Football, fan violence, and identity fusion

Newson

2017

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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Football violence has been a global problem for decades. A new way to approach the phenomenon comes from the theory of identity fusion, an extreme form of social bonding implicated in personally costly pro-group behaviours. Using British and Brazilian fan cultures to illustrate, this article discusses the ways in which identity fusion can help understandings of football violence. While hooliganism in the UK and the phenomenon of torcidas organizadas in Brazil operate under culturally distinct loci, the fundamental cognition underlying the extreme behaviours exhibited by both may be remarkably similar. Through this discussion, the football landscape is shown to offer researchers unique opportunities for understanding culture and the human psyche more broadly.

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Section: Perspectives On Fan Violencesupporting

confidence: 70%

Football, fan violence, and identity fusion

Newson

2017

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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“…These initial attempts to find empirical foundations for the theory as well as to articulate the key overlaps and differences between identity fusion and group identification produced several reviews mainly focused on how the findings supported each of the four principles (Buhrmester & Swann, 2015; Fredman et al, 2015; Gómez & Vázquez, 2015; Swann & Buhrmester, 2015, see Table 1 for a summary).…”

Section: Identity Fusion Theory Before 2015mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent advances, misconceptions, untested assumptions, and future research agenda for identity fusion theory

Gómez

Chinchilla

Vázquez

et al. 2020

Social & Personality Psych

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Just a decade ago, two psychologists, Swann, and Gómez, developed a new theoretical framework to explain extreme pro-group behaviors: identity fusion theory. Identity fusion refers to a visceral feeling of oneness with a group that motivates individuals to do extraordinary self-sacrifices on behalf of the group or each of its members. Since the formulation of the theory, interdisciplinary researchers of the five continents have conducted dozens of studies on identity fusion, both in laboratory and field settings. Research has deepened into the causes, consequences, underlying mechanisms, and applications of identity fusion. The development of fusion-based research has been steadfast and very prolific. Hence, the first section of the current manuscript includes an updated overview of this fast growing literature. This increasing interest for the theory has, however, been accompanied by a series of misconceptions and untested research assumptions, which we address in the second and third sections of the paper, concluding with a final section suggesting a future research agenda. Our aim is to help those interested in knowing more about identity fusion or about the causal mechanisms that lead individuals to risk their life and personal well-being for a group discarding common misconceptions as well as formulating more precise and nuanced hypotheses for future research.

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“…While some research has explored aspects of military identity (Griffith, 2002; Johansen, Laberg, & Martinussen, 2014; Lancaster & Hart, 2015) and military personnel are often used as anecdotal examples of fusion, no research has examined the role of fusion specifically in U.S. military members and veterans. This lack of empirical study is particularly surprising given that two of the strongest predictors of fusion: negative shared experiences (Jong et al, 2015) and performing physical rituals together (Buhrmester & Swann, 2015) are primary characteristics of military service.…”

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confidence: 99%

Identity Fusion in U.S. Military Members

Hart

Lancaster

2017

Armed Forces & Society

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Identity fusion, the visceral sense of interconnectedness between oneself and the members of a group, has been associated with military service anecdotally and examined among foreign military groups. However, no study to date has explored fusion and its relationship with functioning among U.S. military members. The aims of this study were (1) to examine the incremental predictive validity of fusion, (2) to examine the relationship between fusion and pro- and antisocial in-group behaviors, and (3) to determine how one’s attitude toward their military service may affect fusion. Data were collected via self-report using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk software. Results indicated that fusion predicted progroup beliefs and in-group helping behaviors above and beyond other indicators of military identity. Further, satisfaction with the military mediated the relationship between fusion and willingness to give time to other veterans. Identifying an important mediator of fusion expands upon earlier work in the field and suggests routes for future inquiry.

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Identity Fusion

Cited by 13 publications

References 25 publications

Football, fan violence, and identity fusion

Football, fan violence, and identity fusion

Recent advances, misconceptions, untested assumptions, and future research agenda for identity fusion theory

Identity Fusion in U.S. Military Members

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