Identity fusion

Identity fusion, a psychological construct rooted in social psychology and cognitive anthropology, is a form of alignment with groups in which members experience a visceral sense of oneness with the group. The construct relies on a distinction between the personal self (characteristics that make someone a unique person, such as height, age, or personality) and the social self (characteristics that align the person with various groups, such as common nationalities, interests, or motivations). As the name suggests, identity fusion involves the union of the personal and social selves. When fusion occurs, both the personal and social selves remain salient and influential but the boundaries between them become highly permeable. In addition, the theory proposes that fused persons come to regard other group members as "family" and develop strong relational ties to them as well as ties to the collective. Therefore, fused persons are not just bound to the collective; they are tied to the individual members of the collective. The potency of the personal self and relational ties distinguish identity fusion from other forms of alignment with groups, such as "group identification", in which allegiance to the collective eclipses the personal self and relational ties to other group members. Because of this, the personal self and relational ties are not as involved in theories of group identification. Identity fusion theorizes that fusion measures should be more predictive of extreme pro-group behavior than previously proposed measures of identification. In fact, there is growing evidence of this. Measures of identity fusion are particularly powerful predictors of personally costly pro-group behaviors, including endorsement of extreme behaviors, such as fighting and dying for the group.

Theoretical foundations The identity fusion construct builds upon earlier work by emphasizing aspects of the relationship of people to groups that were de-emphasized within the social identity perspective (i.e., social identity theory and self-categorization theory). Like social identity theory, identity fusion theory rests on the distinction between the personal and social identities. However, the social identity approach assumes that there is a hydraulic relationship between personal and social identities. That is, the increases in the salience and influence of one identity diminishes the salience and influence of the other. One important implication of this assumption is that as the group identity becomes salient and apt to guide behavior, the personal identity becomes less salient and less likely to guide behavior. In contrast, the theory of identity fusion theory proposes that both the personal and social identities of a person can be salient and influential simultaneously.

Social identity theory also suggests that group members are only linked to one another through their allegiance to the collective; theoretically, personal relationships between group members do not foster identification with the group (with the exception of one study). In contrast, fused individuals feel deeply connected to other group members as individuals, as well as to the larger group as a whole. This is reflected in measures of identify fusion. For example, the verbal measure of identity fusion taps feelings of reciprocal strength between the individual and the group (e.g., "I am strong because of my group"; "I would do more for my group than any other group members would do") as well as feelings of oneness with the group (e.g., "I am one with my group"; "My group is me").

The four principles

The characteristics of identity fusion theory have been summarized in the form of four principles:

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