Citation

Newson M, Buhrmester M, Whitehouse H. PLoS One 2016; 11(8): e0160427.

Affiliation

Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Public Library of Science)

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0160427

PMID

27508386

Abstract

Pledging lifelong loyalty to an ingroup can have far-reaching behavioural effects, ranging from ordinary acts of ingroup kindness to extraordinary acts of self-sacrifice. What motivates this important form of group commitment? Here, we propose one especially potent answer to this question-the experience of a visceral sense of oneness with a group (i.e., identity fusion). In a sample of British football (soccer) fans, a population in which high levels of lifelong loyalty are thought to be common, we first examined the hypothesised relationship between fusion and perceptions of lifelong loyalty to one's club. We further explored the hypothesis that fusion and lifelong loyalty are not merely a reflection of past time investment in a group, but also reflect a deeper, memory-based process of feeling personally shaped by key group events, both euphoric and dysphoric. We found broad support for these hypotheses.

RESULTS suggest that feeling personally self-shaped by club events (e.g., crucial wins and losses), rather than time invested in the club, leads to greater identity fusion to one's club. In turn, fusion engenders a sense of lifelong club loyalty. We discuss our findings in relation to the growing literature on the experiential origins of intense social cohesion.

Language: en