Identity fusion and inter-group relations

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

Humans share conventional codes of conduct that include disapproval of severely harming others. Thus a disquieting challenge for society is understanding how members of groups can murder or harm outsiders in violation of some of humanity's most basic moral principles. This project will draw on past evidence that people who are strongly "fused" with their group are especially inclined to view fellow group members as family. These family ties, in turn, cause them to sacrifice themselves for the group. When strongly fused persons come into conflict with another group, they experience an emotionally charged state. This state compels them to feel intensely that their first, and often only, moral consideration is their familial duty to protect group members at the expense of outsiders. This leads to "intergroup moral myopia," a state in which people abandon conventional standards of moral conduct in favor of a simple rule: Act on behalf of one's group regardless of the consequences for outsiders. This research project examines the mechanisms that give rise to intergroup moral myopia, and determines what amplifies its effects and what might in turn avert its negative consequences. Ultimately, by understanding such processes, society may learn how to prevent a variety of violent acts by group members such as suicide terrorism against civilians, the slaughter of aid workers, and human sex trafficking. A series of field and laboratory studies will illuminate the conscious and non-conscious mechanisms that give rise to the state of intergroup moral myopia. The empirical research will be conducted in several regions with long histories of intergroup conflict, including the Middle East, Spain, and U.S. This research will explore the processes that lead fused persons to dehumanize outgroup members, make exceptions when judging the morality of their own group members, endorse the superiority of their group's moral code over all others, and engage in discriminatory actions that would otherwise be unthinkable. Studies will test the hypothesis that perception of threat to the ingroup will amplify these effects. The final wave of studies test strategies for averting the negative consequences of intergroup moral myopia. The international component of this research helps foster ongoing collaborations between researchers in the U.S., Spain, UK, and Mideast. Moreover, by focusing on intergroup conflict in the U.S. and hotspots across Eurasia and Africa, including Israel/Palestine, Libya, and Spain, this research has important implications for the U.S.'s national security, economic well-being, and conflict resolution. Co-funding from the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) provided support for this award.