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 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.
Highlights
Ingroup loyalty–faithfully sticking with one’s ingroup through thick and thin–courts reciprocal commitment from other group members, making group behaviour more predictable and stable [1, 2]
Our results indicate that identity fusion provides a novel explanation of group loyalty, independent from the effects of identification and cognitive dissonance
In support of Whitehouse & Lanman’s earlier assertion (2014), we provide the first evidence that identity fusion is not a by-product of cognitive dissonance
Summary
Ingroup loyalty–faithfully sticking with one’s ingroup through thick and thin–courts reciprocal commitment from other group members, making group behaviour more predictable and stable [1, 2]. Declarations of loyalty to one’s group are common cross-culturally. Through prayer, hymn or bumper sticker, religious believers around the world express their unwavering commitment to serve their God, Prophet, or other supernatural agent. In terms of public policy, by identifying the mechanisms through which group loyalty develops, we are better placed to harness it for practical and positive outcomes, e.g. acts of charity or the reduction of inter-group violence. The social identity perspective offers one account of group loyalty. Social identity refers to a person’s sense of who they are in terms of group membership [3].
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