Identity fusion
When fusion occurs, both the personal and social selves remain salient and influential but the boundaries between them become highly permeable.
Several studies have shown that fusion is a robust predictor of willingness to fight and die on behalf of one's group.
[31] Other research has also suggested that strongly fused individuals are especially willing to go out of their way to protect the group and maintain its integrity.
In particular, there has been an emphasis on viewing identity fusion in the context of the attachment theory concept of a "secure base", which empowers group members to interact more confidently with others.
[35] Since Charles Darwin, the willingness of some humans to sacrifice themselves for genetically unrelated members of the same large, diffuse group (such as a religion or a nation) has raised a theoretical challenge.
Local fusion is proposed to occur in relatively small, homogeneous groups whose members attach to each other through direct personal contact (e.g., families or work teams).
In contrast, extended fusion occurs in relatively large groups whose members do not all have personal relationships (e.g., political parties or nation states).
In extended fusion, even though fused individuals may not actually know all of their fellow group members, they still feel like they know them and even think of them as like family.
In extended fusion, the perception of psychological kinship is fostered by the presence of certain characteristics that are perceived as fundamental to who the person is.
[40] The relational ties principle of fusion suggests that highly fused individuals will feel that they and other group members synergistically strengthen each other.
These feelings of invulnerability may serve to insulate strongly fused individuals from fully recognizing the risks associated with extreme acts.
[3][10][41] The identity synergy principle of fusion assumes that the borders between the personal and social selves are highly permeable for strongly fused individuals.
[17][3] A study found that groups that share painful or strong negative experiences can cause visceral bonding, and pro-group behavior.
