Identity Fusion

MICHAEL D. BUHRMESTER and WILLIAM B. SWANN, Jr.

Abstract
Identity fusion represents a new form of alignment with groups that motivates
personally costly, pro-group behaviors. The approach posits that fused individuals
experience a visceral sense of “oneness” with a group, wherein their personal
self (characteristics of individuals that make them unique) joins with a social self
(characteristics of individuals that align them with groups). Research has identified
several cognitive and affective mechanisms (e.g., sense of agency, invulnerability,
familial ties) unique to fusion that help explain why strongly fused persons engage
in pro-group behaviors. For example, fusion robustly predicts endorsement of
self-sacrificial behaviors to save other group members’ lives as well as less extreme
but nonetheless personally costly acts such as donating money to needy group
members. Here, we lay out the basic tenets of the fusion approach, highlight key
empirical evidence for fusion theory, and discuss important issues and promising
directions for future research on the topic.

INTRODUCTION
Why do some soldiers instinctively risk life and limb for their compatriots?
Why do some community members sacrifice their own financial security by
donating their time and treasure to needy others? And why do some employ-
ees selflessly endure personal hardship for their organization? We propose
that a new approach to understanding the interplay of the personal self and
group identity—identity fusion—provides a promising new perspective on
each of these phenomena.
The identity fusion approach assumes that group members sometimes
develop a powerful, visceral sense of “oneness” with their group. Dozens
of studies now demonstrate that identity fused persons are more apt to
endorse extreme pro-group behavior, especially endorsement of extreme
acts such as sacrificing one’s own life (Swann, Jetten, Gómez, Whitehouse,
& Bastian, 2012). By specifying some of the key antecedents of extreme
pro-group behavior, the identity fusion approach fills an important explana-
tory gap left largely unaddressed by past perspectives on group processes.
To accomplish this aim, the identity fusion framework focuses on several
Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Edited by Robert Scott and Stephan Kosslyn.
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-1-118-90077-2.

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2 EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

aspects of group processes that have been de-emphasized or overlooked by

the past formulations described below.

FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH
The identity fusion perspective shares some features with group phenomena
studied by other behavioral scientists. As does the self-expansion model of
interpersonal closeness (Aron, Aron, & Smollan, 1992) and Whitehouse’s
“imagistic” mode of religiosity (1995), fusion theory assumes that interper-
sonal relationships and the meaningful memories created within them play
a key role in solidifying the bond between members and the group. Akin
to Turner’s notion of “spontaneous communitas” (1969) and Durkheim’s
notions of solidarity (1893/1964), the fusion approach posits that individuals
vary in the extent to which they see other group members as homogeneous
versus uniquely valuable.
Of all the formulations that are related to identity fusion, however, the
closest is the social identity approach, which embraces two theories, social
identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and self-categorization (Turner, Hogg, Oakes,
Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987; Turner, Oakes, Haslam, & McGarty, 1994).
Similar to the identity fusion approach, the social identity approach rests on
a distinction between people’s personal identities (i.e., aspects of self that
make people unique) and social identities (i.e., aspects of self that align them
with groups, such as being an American or Catholic; James, 1890). The social
identity approach, however, assumes that personal and social identities
are hydraulically related, with increases in the salience of one producing
decreases in the salience of the other. This assumption implies that when
it comes to motivating group-related behavior, social identities and degree
of alignment with the group category are all that matter; qualities of indi-
vidual group members, including their personal identities and idiosyncratic
relationships with others group members, do not. Moreover, social identity
theory suggests that group members are bound to other group members
only insofar as such group members embody the prototypic qualities of
the group. From this vantage point, the unique relationships that group
members establish with one another are not thought to foster identification
with the group (e.g., Turner et al., 1987; but see Postmes & Jetten, 2006, for
a rival view). In contrast, fusion presumably involves a deep connection
between the person and the entire group, which includes not simply the
group category but also its individual members.
The more active role accorded to the personal self in fusion as compared
to identification is reflected in the way the two constructs are measured.
Self-report scales designed to measure identification (Mael & Ashforth,
1992) often place respondents in a reactive role, with items that focus on
 Identity Fusion 3

how group membership impacts the individual (e.g., If a story in the media
criticized my group, I would feel embarrassed). In contrast, measures of
identity fusion emphasize the mutual interplay of the personal self and
group, including items denoting a strong connection with the group (e.g., I
am one with my group), but also items indicating feelings of personal agency
in the service of the group (I make my group strong). Over three dozen
studies have shown that measures of identity fusion predict pro-group
behavior more effectively than measures of identification, especially when
the behavior involves extreme sacrifices, such as giving up one’s life for the
group (Swann et al., 2012).
But identity fusion does not merely predict extreme pro-group behavior
better than measures of identification; it also interacts with contextual
variables in unique ways. We offer four examples. First, to test the notion
that fused individuals are motivated to engage in pro-group behavior
by their personal as well as social self-views, researchers experimentally
increased feelings of personal agency by increasing physiological arousal
through physical exercise. Consistent with predictions, they discovered
that increases in arousal bolstered the extent to which fused individuals
endorsed extreme pro-group behavior, including sacrificing one’s life for
the group (Gómez et al., 2011; Swann, Gómez, Seyle, Morales, & Huici, 2009;
Swann et al., 2010). This pattern did not emerge among highly identified
persons.
Second, the fusion approach assumes that as a result of the powerful
feelings of oneness that fused persons have with their group, the situational
influences that activate their personal or group identity will simultaneously
activate the other. For instance, activating the personal selves of fused
persons by asking them how they would react to threat to their personal
well-being increased their subsequent endorsement of sacrifices for the
group (Gómez et al., 2011; Swann et al., 2009). This pattern did not emerge
among highly identified persons.
Third, as noted above, the fusion approach assumes that strongly fused per-
sons care not only about their collective ties to the “group” as an abstract
entity, but they also care deeply about their real or imagined relationships
with individuals in the group (see also Aron et al., 1992; Brewer & Gard-
ner, 1996; Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Consistent with this reasoning, highly
fused persons were especially likely to endorse sacrificing their own lives
to save the lives of individual members of the group who they perceived to
be imperiled (Swann et al., 2009). No such pattern emerged among highly
identified persons.
Fourth, the fusion approach assumes that once a person develops a high
level of fusion, his or her level of fusion will tend to remain highly stable
4 EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

over time despite variation in context. To test this idea, researchers had par-
ticipants complete the fusion scale and then, 1–18 months later, they had them
complete it again. Participants who initially scored high on the fusion scale
(i.e., in the upper tertile) tended to remain high over time compared to those
who initially scored lower. This notion of “irrevocability” amongst strongly
fused persons stands in contrast to the past emphasis on the situational speci-
ficity of identification.

CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH

An expanding empirical record supports fusion’s role as an antecedent to
various pro-group behaviors. Below we offer a selective review of past and
ongoing work.

ENDORSEMENT OF EXTREME PRO-GROUP ACTS

Since the experimental study of actual extreme pro-group acts raises large
ethical red flags, with a few exceptions researchers have focused on endorse-
ments of extreme pro-group acts. For example, Swann et al. (2009) developed
a 7-item self-report measure of intentions to fight and die on behalf of one’s
group (e.g., “I would fight someone threatening another group member,” “I
would sacrifice my life if it saved another group member’s life”). Across stud-
ies involving participants in dozens of countries from six continents, fusion
robustly predicted responses to the fight and die measure while controlling
for identification (Gómez et al., 2011; Swann et al., 2014).
Other researchers have developed original moral dilemmas based on the
classic “trolley dilemma” (Foot, 1967). These dilemmas pit self-preservation
against self-sacrifice for others (Swann et al., 2010; Swann, Gómez, López,
Jiménez, & Buhrmester, 2014). In a prototypical dilemma, participants imag-
ine that they are standing on a bridge overlooking a set of train tracks below.
Five group members (e.g., ingroup or outgroup) are on the tracks imperiled
by a rapidly approaching train, leaving the participant with a choice: (i)
stand idly by as others are killed or (ii) jump to one’s death, causing the train
to stop before crushing the hapless group members on the track. Responses
to several variations of this dilemma point to the same conclusion: strongly
fused persons are especially willing to endorse sacrificing their lives for
fellow ingroup members, but their altruism does not extend to outgroups.
One follow-up study revealed that strongly fused members’ allegiances
allow that some people fall in the grey area between ingroup and outgroup
member, however. That is, strongly fused Spaniards endorsed dying for
non-Spaniard Europeans, an “extended” ingroup (Swann et al., 2010),
but not a single participant endorsed saving Americans, an unequivocal
 Identity Fusion 5

“outgroup.” Apparently, strongly fused persons’ feelings of responsibility

are strong but nuanced.
Taking a very different approach, researchers explored political party mem-
bers’ divergent reactions to the outcomes of the 2008 national elections in
Spain and the United States (Buhrmester et al., 2012). Whereas strongly fused
members predicted that their personal fortunes would rise or fall with the
fate of their political parties, highly identified persons predicted that their
fortunes would improve when the party won but remain the same when their
party lost. These findings confirm past indications that political losers who
are merely identified tend to detach themselves from the group following a
group failure (Boen, Van Beselaere, & Feys, 2002) but also show that strongly
fused persons are poised to “go down with the ship.”

PERSONALLY COSTLY, PRO-GROUP BEHAVIORS

Although fusion was originally intended to explain extreme pro-group acts,
it has also been used to explain less extreme but nevertheless personally
costly and/or pro-group actions. In some cases, the costs are financial. For
instance, in one study, strongly fused Spaniards were especially likely to
donate personal funds to support financially distressed Spaniards (Swann
et al., 2010). In response to the terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon,
strongly fused Americans were more likely to donate personal funds to
victims than were weakly fused Americans (Buhrmester, Fraser, Lanman,
Whitehouse & Swann, in press).
In other studies, strongly fused persons have provided social or emotional
support to fellow group members. For instance, in one cross-cultural
investigation, Canadian, Chinese, and Indian participants played a
resource-allocation computer game designed to measure helping behaviors
between players (Semnani-Azad, Sycara, & Lewis, 2012). Players who were
strongly fused with their home nation allocated more resources to fellow
nation members in the game and made fewer selfish requests for aid than
did weakly fused players. Similarly, following the Boston Marathon attack,
strongly fused Americans were more likely to enact several actions that
were emotionally supportive of the victims, such as writing heartfelt notes
of support to victims (Buhrmester et al., in press).
Other recent evidence suggests that fusion motivates acts of sacrifice
for individuals who technically are not yet group members. In a study
of transsexuals considering sex reassignment surgery, fusion with one’s
psychological sex predicted whether individuals forged ahead with surgical
procedures designed to irrevocably change their primary sex character-
istics (Gómez et al., under review). Individuals strongly fused with their
psychological underwent surgery despite the known risks to their close
6 EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

friendships and family ties in addition to the physical health risks and pain
associated with the surgeries. Apparently, for some, the desire to align one’s
personal sense of self with a group is so strong that they are willing to
endure considerable social and physical pain.
Recent research has also suggested that strongly fused persons endure per-
sonal costs to ensure that group-related injustices are righted (Buhrmester,
2013). For instance, strongly fused employees were more likely than weakly
fused employees to report having “blown the whistle” sometime during the
course of their employment. Often, whistleblowers report being motivated
by a sense that their actions will ultimately benefit the group (Miceli, Near, &
Dworkin, 2008). To illuminate the antecedents of whistleblowing, researchers
carefully choreographed an experiment in which students witnessed a fellow
student (confederate) cheat on an exam. Students who were strongly fused
with their university became incensed when they witnessed a fellow student
cheating in ways that were costly to other students, and their emotional reac-
tions motivated them to “blow the whistle” against the cheater despite a high
perceived risk of retaliation (Buhrmester, 2013).

UNDERPINNINGS OF FUSION–BEHAVIOR LINKS

To date, researchers have identified four key variables that underlie links
between fusion and various pro-group actions. First, in line with the assump-
tion that strongly fused individuals imbue pro-group action with a sense of
personal agency, multiple studies have shown that physiological arousal and
self-reported feelings of group-directed agency (e.g., I am responsible for
my group’s actions) mediate links between fusion and pro-group behavior
(Gómez et al., 2011; Swann et al., 2009, 2010). These results suggest that a wide
range of physical activities common to groups throughout human history
(e.g., ritual chanting, dancing, marching) may serve to prime the pro-group
pump amongst fused persons.
Second, since fusion theory suggests that strongly fused persons believe
that they strengthen the group just as the group strengthens them,
researchers tested whether feelings of invulnerability underlie strongly
fused persons’ endorsements of self-sacrifice (Gómez et al., 2011). As
expected, strongly fused persons endorsed items such as “My group
will be able to cope with any sort of threat.” Moreover, such feelings of
invulnerability mediated their endorsement of self-sacrificial acts for other
group members. Strongly fused persons’ feelings of group invulnerability
may serve to insulate them from recognizing fully the risks associated with
extreme pro-group behavior.
 Identity Fusion 7

Third, in line with the highly emotional character of identity fusion, recent
evidence suggests that strongly fused persons experience heightened nega-
tive emotions after receiving information indicating that their group is imper-
iled in some way. For example, when strongly fused participants learned
that group members might be killed in a hypothetical trolley dilemma, they
became upset and these emotional reactions predicted subsequent endorse-
ment of self-sacrifice for the group (Swann et al., 2014). Apparently, among
strongly fused persons, learning that the group category or individual group
members are endangered in some way triggers emotional reactions and these
reactions motivate more endorsement of pro-group behavior.
Finally, consistent with the presumed centrality of real or imagined ties to
other group members, recent evidence suggests that self-reported feelings of
familial connection to all other group members statistically mediates link-
ages between fusion and pro-group outcomes (Buhrmester et al., in press,
Swann et al., 2014). In small groups where it is possible to know all the other
members, projecting a family-like sense of knowing to other group members
(e.g., as “brothers and sisters” or “sons and daughters”) may seem unsurpris-
ing. However, how do people manage to project familial ties in much larger
groups, such as to one’s country? We consider these issues next.

KEY ISSUES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

There is still much to be learned about identity fusion. We turn first to the
causal antecedents of fusion.

CAUSES OF FUSION
What experiences foster fusion? Whitehouse’s anthropological insights into
ritual behaviors (2004) provide a compelling starting point here. Whitehouse
has reported that some religious groups have developed infrequently used
but highly arousing rituals (e.g., traumatic rites of passage) that serve to
tighten within-group bonds. These rituals generate intensely dysphoric
feelings that participants subsequently strive to understand by reflecting
on them. Such reflections eventually build a rich cognitive network that
supports and amplifies participants’ positive feelings about the group. The
ultimate result is fusion with the group. Expanding Whitehouse’s analysis
of religious groups to other contexts (e.g., militias), a field study during the
recent revolution in Libya supports this analysis (Whitehouse, McQuinn,
Buhrmester, & Swann, in press). Relative to a group of militia-men who
provided logistical support, those engaged in combat reported feeling more
fused to their militia than to their own families (i.e., true brothers in arms).
In stark contrast, almost no militia members reported feeling fused with
8 EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

non-militia pro-revolutionaries, presumably because they did not share in

the same battlefield trials and tribulations. Such findings shed light on why
in the wake of victory in war smooth coordination within ingroup factions
can be so difficult.
These insights into the development of fusion in small fighting units raise
the related question of the development of fusion to much larger groups
such as one’s nation. We suggest that the key is a tendency for group mem-
bers to perceive that the members of the large group share some essential
qualities that form the basis of a deep bond (Swann et al., 2014). To test this
notion, researchers primed perceptions of two common, essential compo-
nents of close, kinship relationships: shared genetic heritage and shared core
values. Results showed that these priming manipulations encouraged partic-
ipants to perceive that they shared relational ties with the group (e.g., Mem-
bers of my country are like my family to me). These relational ties, in turn,
fostered willingness to self-sacrifice for other group members.

WAXING AND WANING OF FUSION

With respect to temporal stability, fusion resembles other identity related con-
structs such as self-esteem (Tafarodi & Swann, 2001). Similar to self-esteem,
fusion is internally reliable, temporally stable, and resistant to state manip-
ulations. However, also as self-esteem, fusion might manifest itself in a state
form that waxes and wanes temporarily around an average level (Heatherton
& Polivy, 1991). It thus seems plausible that contextual forces could influence
people’s in-the-moment sense of fusion with a group.
To explore this possibility, researchers will first need to develop a valid mea-
sure of state fusion, perhaps by simply adapting instructions to focus on peo-
ple’s most immediate thoughts and feelings. Second, researchers should seek
to identify what sorts of experiences uniquely cause temporarily changes in
state fusion that cannot be explained by changes in related constructs (e.g.,
social identification). Using bottom-up approaches (e.g., daily diary stud-
ies), researchers could explore what day-to-day experiences, if any, tend to
increase or decrease state fusion. Then researchers could unpack promising
causal agents in more controlled lab settings.
Whitehouse’s work on ritual (2004) may provide some leads here. His work
suggests that events that are highly arousing, relatively rare in frequency,
and foster rich episodic memories stand a better chance at increasing fusion
than events that lack these elements. Special, infrequent group events such
as competitive events between groups (e.g., national sporting events), cel-
ebrations of group history (e.g., Chanukah) and days of remembrance for
certain important group figures or certain subgroups (e.g., Memorial Day in
the United States) may also amplify state fusion temporarily. In addition to
 Identity Fusion 9

group events that are planned and ritual in nature, unexpected, impactful
events may also temporarily buttress the collective and relational ties that
bind individuals to the group. These events could take many possible forms:
natural disasters (e.g., Hurricane Katrina in the United States), fortuitous dis-
coveries (e.g., valued heirlooms or archaeological finds long thought lost),
terrorist attacks (e.g., 9/11), or so on.

EXPANDING FOCUS TO DIFFERENT GROUPS

Fusion theory was developed, in part, to explain extreme pro-group behav-
iors such as fighting and dying for one’s group. Past research on identity
fusion has accordingly focused on outcome measures that are directly rele-
vant to national military, paramilitary, or radical nongovernmental groups
acting in defense of one’s nation. Increasingly however, researchers have
expanded the range of outcomes related personally costly pro-group acts
that are not self-sacrificial. In turn, more attention has been directed to other
types of groups (e.g., political parties, work and academic organizations).
Researchers have distinguished two distinct forms of fusion. In local fusion,
group members know one another directly (e.g., teammates, military fight-
ing units). In extended fusion, any single group member may directly know
only a tiny fraction of other members (e.g., a religious group, a collection
of nations such as the European Union). Given the broad definition of an
extended group, the fusion lens could be theoretically focused on numerous
groups, such as companies (e.g., Apple, Microsoft), belief-based groups (e.g.,
veganism), and groups based on demographic qualities (e.g., gender, age).
Whatever the group may be, investigators should begin by asking themselves
(i) do the qualities of the group and members generally align with the theo-
retical principles of the fusion construct, and (ii) is there sufficient variation
in members’ experiences and bonds with the group to justify an individual
differences perspective? If answers to both of these two questions are in the
affirmative, the fusion approach may prove illuminating.

UNDERSTANDING THE LINK BETWEEN MORAL CONVICTION AND MORAL ACTION

Recent scholars of moral psychology have provided a compelling answer as
to why people so often disagree about morally-charged issues: At a funda-
mental, oft-unrecognized level, situations trigger moral principles that vary
from person-to-person (e.g., Haidt, 2001). But what about situations in which
all people know what is moral, but only some decide to actually do it? We
explored this very question by gathering people’s in-the-moment thoughts
and feelings as they contemplated sacrificing their life to save the lives of
fellow group members (Swann et al.,2014). The results revealed that when
10 EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

strongly fused persons believed that self-sacrifice was moral, they endorsed
it; in contrast, when weakly fused persons believed that self-sacrifice was
moral, they often eschewed it in favor of actions that would save their own
life. It therefore appears that the story of moral action begins but does not
always end with one’s moral conviction. Instead, the alignments people form
with other group members can sometimes be a more powerful motivator of
moral behavior than moral conviction.

IMPLICATIONS
Since Le Bon (1895/1947) first explored the phenomena of crowd psychol-
ogy, many have contended that the process of immersing oneself in a group
is marked by a process he dubbed “submergence.” In this process, the indi-
viduals in the crowd lose their sense of individual self and personal respon-
sibility to the group. As such, the person becomes a mere carrier of the sen-
timents of the collective, a carrier stripped of personal agency. Lately, vari-
ations of this approach have resurfaced in contemporary accounts that fea-
ture uncertainty-reduction (Hogg, 2009; van den Bos, van Ameijde, & van
Gorp, 2006) or existential anxiety-reduction as the motive for group bonding
(Pyszczynski et al., 2006). In contrast to these accounts, the identity fusion
approach features mechanisms that are very much the opposite of uncertainty
and anxiety reduction. As numerous investigations now show, strongly fused
persons are emboldened by feelings of personal agency, invulnerability, and a
sense of family-like connection to other group members. As a result, strongly
fused members become more personal—and powerful—agents of the group.
Whether they are fused soldiers, community advocates, or company-men
and women, they all share a unique willingness to defend, promote, and seek
justice for the group.
Author note: Research reported here was made possible by support from
a National Science Foundation grant # BCS-1124382 to William B. Swann,
and post-doctoral support to Michael D. Buhrmester from ESRC Large Grant
(REF RES-060-25-0085).

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Swann, W. B., Jr., Jetten, J., Gómez, A., Whitehouse, H., & Bastian, B. (2012). When
group membership gets personal: A theory of identity fusion. Psychological Review,
119(3), 441–456. doi:10.1037/a0028589
Tafarodi, R. W., & Swann, W. B., Jr. (2001). Two-dimensional self-esteem: Theory and
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 Identity Fusion 13

Whitehouse, H., Mcquinn, B., Buhrmester, M. D., & Swann, W. B., Jr. (in press). Broth-
ers in arms: Libyan revolutionaries bond like family. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.

FURTHER READING

Atran, S. (2010). Talking to the enemy: Faith, brotherhood, and the (un)making of terrorists.
New York, NY: Harper-Collins.
Buhrmester, M. D., Gómez, Á., Brooks, M. L., Morales, J. F., Fernandez, S., &
Swann, W. B., Jr. (2012). My group’s fate is my fate: Identity fused Americans and
Spaniards link personal life quality to outcome of ‘08 elections. Basic and Applied
Social Psychology, 34, 527–533. doi:10.1080/01973533.2012.732825
Gómez, Á., Brooks, M. L., Buhrmester, M. D., Vázquez, A., Jetten, J., & Swann,
W. B., Jr. (2011). On the nature of identity fusion: Insights into the construct
and a new measure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 918–933.
doi:10.1037/a0022642
Gómez, Á., Morales, J. F., Hart, S., Vázquez, A., & Swann, W. B., Jr. (2011). Rejected
and excluded forevermore, but even more devoted: Irrevocable ostracism inten-
sifies loyalty to the group among identity fused persons. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 37, 1574–1586. doi:10.1177/0146167211424580
Hornsey, M. J., & Jetten, J. (2004). The individual within the group: Balancing the
need to belong with the need to be different. Personality and Social Psychology
Review, 8, 248–264. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0803_2
Swann, W. B., Jr., Gómez, A., Dovidio, J., Hart, S., & Jetten, J. (2010). Dying and
killing for one’s group: Identity fusion moderates responses to intergroup ver-
sions of the trolley problem. Psychological Science, 21, 1176–1183. doi:10.1177/
0956797610376656
Swann, W. B., Jr., Gómez, A., Huici, C., Morales, F., & Hixon, J. G. (2010). Iden-
tity fusion and self-sacrifice: Arousal as catalyst of pro-group fighting, dying
and helping behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 824–841.
doi:10.1037/a0020014
Swann, W. B., Jr., Gómez, A., Seyle, C., Morales, J. F., & Huici, C. (2009). Identity
fusion: The interplay of personal and social identities in extreme group behavior.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 995–1011. doi:10.1037/a0013668
Swann, W. B., Jr., Jetten, J., Gómez, Á., Whitehouse, H., & Bastian, B. (2012). When
group membership gets personal: A theory of identity fusion. Psychological Review,
119, 441–456. doi:10.1037/a0028589

MICHAEL D. BUHRMESTER SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Michael D. Buhrmester is a post-doctoral researcher at the University
of Oxford in Oxford, UK & currently visiting research fellow at Queen’s
University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Michael earned his BA in Plan
II Honors and Psychology (2007) and his PhD in Social & Personality
14 EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Psychology (2013) from the University of Texas at Austin under the super-
vision of Bill Swann. He is currently working with an interdisciplinary
research group on the antecedents, nature, and consequences of group
bonding, cooperation, and conflict. Find him on the web at http://www.
michaelbuhrmester.wordpress.com

WILLIAM B. SWANN, JR. SHORT BIOGRAPHY

William B. Swann, Jr. is a professor of Social, Personality and Clinical
Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his PhD from
the University of Minnesota and undergraduate degree from Gettysburg
College. He has spent most of his career at the University of Texas at
Austin, with cameo appearances at Princeton University and the Center for
Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He has
received research grants and research scientist development awards from
the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, the
National Institute of Drug and Alcohol Abuse and the Carnegie Foundation.
He is primarily known for his work on the self and identity, especially
his development of three theories, self-verification, identity negotiation,
and identity fusion. He has also done research on relationships, social
cognition, group processes, accuracy in person perception, interpersonal
expectancy effects, blirtatiousness, personality, and attitudes. Currently,
most of his work focuses on identity fusion. His web site is http://www.
homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/faculty/swann/index.html

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