Identity Fusion, Extreme Pro-Group Behavior, and the Path to Defusion

Identity fusion refers to a visceral sense of oneness with an ingroup. For fused individuals, group membership is not a means to an end (e.g., a positive social identity). Rather, membership is an all-absorbing goal in itself; little other than the group matters. Group membership is also seen as enduring, sustained by chronically activated psychological structures as well as features of the context. Fellow group members are likewise seen as permanent members of the group, as they are members of the ingroup family. And just as family members are compelled to make extreme sacrifices for their family, so too are highly fused individuals - including even the ultimate sacrifice. These efforts to protect the ingroup can have negative consequences when, for example, people become strongly fused to groups that are devoted to extreme, anti-social behaviors. In such instances, it may be prudent to encourage defusion from the group, but the emotional investment associated with fusion may thwart such efforts. We discuss the implications of these and related considerations.