OVERLAP BETWEEN PERSONAL AND GROUP IDENTITY AND ITS RELATION WITH RADICAL PRO-GROUP ATTITUDES: DATA FROM A CENTRAL EUROPEAN CULTURAL CONTEXT

Previous research demonstrated that group adherence, which manifests itself by personal and social identity fusion, is related to radical pro-group attitudes and that this relationship is stronger for measures of identity fusion than group identification. A series of four studies (total n = 872) explored whether in different cultural conditions (i.e., in Central Europe) identity fusion is related to attitudes of fighting in order to protect one's own group and whether that influences the declared tendency to self-sacrifice. Moreover, to extend previous results, the current study tested if fusion is related to sense of control, social approval and self-concept clarity. The results indicate that identity fusion (as measured on a pictorial scale) is linked to radical behaviors operationalized in various ways and to the feeling of self-certainty.