Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain.
ARTIS International, St. Michaels, Maryland, USA.
Br J Soc Psychol. 2022 Oct;61(4):1067-1085. doi: 10.1111/bjso.12526. Epub 2022 Feb 15.
Identity fusion is a visceral feeling of oneness that predicts extreme behaviour on behalf of the target of fusion. We propose that strongly fused individuals are characterized by feelings of visceral responsibility towards such target - unconditional, instinctive, and impulsive drive to care, protect and promote its well-being and interests - that motivates them to self-sacrifice. Two studies offered initial support when the target of fusion is an individual or a group (Studies 1a-1b). A final study added causal evidence that strongly fused learning that most ingroup members did not feel visceral responsibility towards the group expressed less willingness to self-sacrifice than those learning that ingroup members display high levels of visceral responsibility (Study 2). These findings offer novel evidence for the mechanisms underlying the effects of fusion on extreme behaviour on behalf of the target of fusion and the attenuation of its consequences.
身份融合是一种强烈的融为一体的感觉，预示着代表融合目标的极端行为。我们提出，强烈融合的个体表现出对融合目标的内在责任感——无条件、本能和冲动的关怀、保护和促进其福祉和利益的动力——这促使他们自我牺牲。当融合的目标是个人或群体时，两项研究提供了初步支持（研究 1a-1b）。最后一项研究提供了因果证据，表明强烈融合的学习，即大多数内群体成员对群体没有内在责任感，表现出的自我牺牲意愿低于那些学习到内群体成员表现出高度内在责任感的学习（研究 2）。这些发现为融合对融合目标的极端行为的影响机制以及对其后果的削弱提供了新的证据。
