Paths to peaceful and violent action: Identity fusion and group identification

Across three studies, we examined the associations between group identification, identity fusion and pro-group action in national (Study 1: Palestinians), religious (Study 2: Muslims in response to the Charlie Hebdo attacks) and non-political (Study 3: football fandom) contexts. We first tested models in which group identification was related to pro-in-group outcomes, followed by models incorporating identity fusion to assess its additional associations. Group identification was consistently associated with peaceful pro-group action, while identity fusion was more strongly linked to violent pro-group action across all contexts. In Study 1, identity fusion was negatively associated with endorsement of a peaceful solution, a pattern not observed in the other studies. In the football fandom context, identity fusion was positively associated with both peaceful and violent pro-group action, with a stronger association with peaceful action. These findings suggest that identity fusion and group identification, while related, capture different psychological processes relevant to collective action. The study extends research on identity fusion to new cultural contexts and highlights the importance of examining identification processes in diverse real-world contexts.