What makes a group worth dying for? Identity fusion fosters perception of familial ties, promoting self-sacrifice

Bibliographic Data

ID5843845
AuthorsWilliam B Swann (0000-0002-8698-2994, The University of Texas at Austin), Michael D Buhrmester (0000-0002-9892-3334, University of Oxford), Antonio Gomez (0000-0002-4287-4916, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia), Jolanda Jetten (0000-0002-7588-5355, The University of Queensland), Brock Bastian (0000-0003-4619-3322, The University of Queensland), A Vázquez (0000-0002-6040-9102, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia), Amarina Ariyanto (University of Indonesia), Tomasz Besta (0000-0001-6209-3677, University of Gdańsk), Oliver Christ (0000-0002-4022-9278, Philipps University of Marburg), L Cui (0000-0002-8501-5708, East China Normal University), Gillian Finchilescu (0000-0002-5905-309X, University of the Witwatersrand), Roberto González (0000-0002-1824-6215, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Nobuhiko Goto (0000-0003-2675-5164, Nagoya University), Matthew J Hornsey (0000-0003-1275-3977, The University of Queensland), Matthew Hornsey, Sushama Sharma (0009-0000-2311-6856, Kurukshetra University), Harry Susianto (0000-0002-0915-8897, University of Indonesia), Airong Zhang (0000-0002-9839-1032, The University of Queensland)
Year2014
Volume106
Issue6
Pages912-926
Publication date2014-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1037/a0036089
PMID24841096
OpenAlexW2139900199
LanguageEN
Citations received107
References cited26

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

Country of origin · Moderated mediation · Priming (agriculture · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social and Intergroup Psychology

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