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. 2016 Aug 10;11(8):e0160427.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160427. eCollection 2016.

Explaining Lifelong Loyalty: The Role of Identity Fusion and Self-Shaping Group Events

Martha Newson  1 , Michael Buhrmester  1 , Harvey Whitehouse  1
Affiliations

Explaining Lifelong Loyalty: The Role of Identity Fusion and Self-Shaping Group Events

Martha Newson et al. PLoS One. .

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Mediation analysis shows that identify fusion mediates the relationship between self-shapingness and group loyalty.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Mediation analysis shows that identity fusion mediates the relationship between euphoric self-shapingness and group loyalty (outcome).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Mediation analysis shows that identify fusion mediates the relationship between dysphoric self-shapingness and group loyalty.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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