Large group identity

Abstract

Belonging to a large group is a natural phenomenon of human life. Large groups are known as tribes; clans, ethnic, nationalistic, racial, or religious entities; or believers in and followers of a political ideology since childhood. Membership in a large group is an antidote to loneliness; it provides self-esteem on an individual level and on many occasions gives people pleasure and lifts their spirits. Scientific observations of infants in the last few decades have revealed that an infant’s mind is more active than authors thought it was. The interplay between age-appropriate experiences and the maturation of the central nervous system in the development of what psychoanalysts call “ego functions” and an ability to form mental images of relationships with others have been scientifically studied, especially since the 1970s.