Abstract
In this paper we present three studies that address the difference between physical and psychological groups, the conditions that create a transformation from the one into the other, and the psychological processes underlying this transformation. In Study 1 we demonstrate correlations between shared social identity, desired physical proximity to others, and positive emotions in the company of others. Study 2, employing a between-subjects design, finds that an event that creates shared fate, such as the breakdown of a train, leads to greater comfort in social interactions (e.g., ease of conversation) and comfort in sensual interactions (e.g., tolerance of physical touch) with other passengers, and that this occurs through an increase in shared social identity but not through social identification. Study 3 obtains similar findings using a within-subjects design. In combination, these studies provide consistent evidence for the role of shared social identity in the emergence of psychological groups from physical groups.
Highlights
I do not know how many honourable members travel, as I do, on trains
High levels of shared social identity with the England supporters on the train carriage were associated with high levels of positive affect, r(50) = .45, p = .001, 95% CI [0.13, 0.66], and low levels of negative affect, r(50) = −.51, p < .001, 95% CI [−0.67, −0.31]
As predicted, shared social identity was significantly negatively associated with desire for greater physical distance from other passengers, r(50) = −.61, p < .001, 95% CI [−0.77, −0.42]
Summary
I do not know how many honourable members travel, as I do, on trains. I travel regularly on them and I see all the little business men with their calculators working out their cash flow forecasts and I see frowning people glaring at each other. As has previously been done into the impact of shared social identity on relational shifts in groups, generally either contrasts the behaviour of individuals who do or do not identify with the group, or contrasts the way we treat ingroup members to the way we treat outgroup members It does not contrast physical and psychological groups by showing what happens when shared social identity emerges amongst those who are already gathered together. It has been argued that such events often lead to a sense of common fate and thereby shared social identity amongst gatherings of people, and that the solidarity that is generated from this makes survivors both resilient and effective (Drury, 2012, 2018; Drury et al, 2009) Another exception lies in work on religious mass gatherings such as the hajj to Mecca and the Magh Mela in Allahabad, Northern India. We expect that participants who have a strong sense of shared social identity with these fans will imagine their fellow passengers as being part of their social self rather than other, and that this will be related to a more positive experience and less desire for “personal space.” We expect shared social identity to positively correlate with positive affect, and to negatively correlate with negative affect and with desire for greater physical distance from other passengers
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