Whitehouse proposes a novel view of how emotional events (both dysphoric and euphoric), stored in an individual's memories, contribute to group fusion and self-sacrifice for the group. In discussing group-level phenomena, he suggests that such extended fusion “entails alignment with group categories rather than with a network of local, relational ties” (sect. 6, para. 3).

Group identification (referred to as “extended fusion” by Whitehouse) is a complex phenomenon comprising three elements: centrality, in-group affect, and in-group ties (Cameron Reference Cameron2004). Contrary to the view presented by Whitehouse, relational ties within a group lead to group engagement (i.e., sacrifice for a group cause) to a greater extent than mere alignment defined as centrality of the group in the structure of self and positive emotions felt toward the group. Evidence for that can be found in both ethnic and national groups (Bilewicz & Wojcik Reference Bilewicz and Wójcik2010), as well as in groups of interest or neighborhood groups (Obst & White Reference Obst and White2005).

More so, although on the individual level, people are motivated to achieve and maintain a perception of the self as being time consistent (Vignoles Reference Vignoles, Schwartz, Luyckx and Vignoles2011), studies have indicated that this motivation is also central to group identification and can predict the strength of relational ties to the in-group (Smeekes & Verkuyten Reference Smeekes and Verkuyten2013). The need for self-continuity is satisfied by seeing oneself as a part of a group that is perceived as temporally enduring (Smeekes & Verkuyten Reference Smeekes and Verkuyten2014).

Based on our own research, as well as findings by other political and social psychologists, we propose a more diachronic approach to the problem of extended fusion and identification. Whitehouse suggests that shared experiences contribute to self-sacrifice and greater local fusion. We propose that shared historical experiences (dysphoric and euphoric) shape extended fusion in a similar vein as contemporary emotional events shape local fusion. The relationship between historical experiences and extended fusion is a reciprocal one – historical traumas affect contemporary identities, whereas strong identification affects interpretations of past traumas as collective phenomena (see Fig. 1).

Figure 1.

The reciprocal relationship between group identification (extended fusion) and shared historical events.

Studies on trans-generational transmission of trauma show that historical experiences, such as wars, disasters, and atrocities, may lead to enhanced identification, higher cohesion, and self-sacrifice for the group's causes (Staub & Vollhardt Reference Staub and Vollhardt2008). Transmission of traumatic experiences can occur both on societal levels (Klar & Schori-Eyal Reference Klar and Schori-Eyal2013) and through epigenetic processes (Yehuda et al. Reference Yehuda, Daskalakis, Lehrner, Desarnaud, Bader, Makotkine, Flory, Bierer and Meaney2014). More so, research on past victimization suggests that such experiences could lead to greater in-group favoritism and engagement in conflict with other groups (Noor et al. Reference Noor, Brown, Gonzalez, Manzi and Lewis2008; Vollhardt & Bilewicz Reference Vollhardt and Bilewicz2013; Vollhardt et al. Reference Vollhardt, Bilewicz, Olechowski, Halperin and Sharvit2015). Inflating cultural and historical in-group continuity and strengthening group ties can be seen as means of terror management: Being a part of an entity that transcends time can help people cope with concerns related to individual mortality (Sani et al. Reference Sani, Bowe and Herrera2008).

At the same time, extended fusion and higher identification with the in-group in the present affect the ways historical events are remembered. People highly fused with their groups tend to deny negative aspects of their group's history (Bilewicz Reference Bilewicz2016) and show greater group-serving biases in explanations of historical events (Bilewicz et al. Reference Bilewicz, Witkowska, Stefaniak and Imhoff2017). They also express collective moral emotions related to past in-group wrongdoings to a lesser extent (Klein et al. Reference Klein, Licata and Pierucci2011). People highly identified with their group are motivated to protect its positive image by shifting unjust standards of judgment of past wrongdoings, concluding, for example, that the in-group wasn't “that” racist or didn't act “that” unjustly (Miron et al. Reference Miron, Branscombe and Biernat2010). This provides yet another example of the identity–history link, such that high identifiers evaluate past events differently than those with low ties to the in-group.

More evidence of this process can be found in research on defensive forms of group attachment (collective narcissism [Cichocka Reference Cichocka2016]). For example, Bilewicz and Babinska (Reference Bilewicz and Babinska2018) found that collective narcissism is positively related to idealistic interpretations of an in-group's past. People with strong and narcissistic ties to their nation underestimate past immoral behaviors of their fellow in-group members and overestimate in-group heroism. Moreover, studies have shown that collective narcissists interpret an in-group's past through the lenses of victimization and defensiveness, a phenomenon known as siege mentality (Golec de Zavala & Cichocka Reference Golec de Zavala and Cichocka2012), and try to censor information on historical misdeeds of fellow in-group members (Klar & Bilewicz Reference Klar and Bilewicz2017).

Studies on intergroup conflict show that the content of identity that is derived from past victimization can have distinct effects on justifications of present wrongdoings (Schori-Eyal et al. Reference Schori-Eyal, Klar, Roccas and McNeill2017). Lessons from traumatic in-groups’ pasts may lead to different strategies in current intragroup and intergroup relations. On the one hand, they can lead to moral apprehension of wrongdoing (Klar & Schori-Eyal Reference Klar and Schori-Eyal2013) and to shared victimhood-based identity (inclusive victimhood consciousness [Vollhardt Reference Vollhardt, Tropp and Tropp2012]). On the other hand, interpretations of the past can lead to perpetual in-group victimhood orientation, which allows the present in-group to rationalize harming other groups (Schori-Eyal et al. Reference Schori-Eyal, Klar, Roccas and McNeill2017), as well as to exclusive victimhood, which leads to competition with other historically victimized groups (Bilewicz et al. Reference Bilewicz, Winiewski, Kofta and Wójcik2013; De Guissmé & Licata Reference De Guissmé and Licata2017). These processes lead to further strengthening of in-group ties in opposition to other victimized groups.

Social identity shapes the way public events of large-scale importance are remembered. Growing bodies of research on flashbulb memories (long-lasting vivid memories of collectively experienced events [Brown & Kulik Reference Brown and Kulik1977]) underline that social identity shapes the intensity of emotions that the relevant event triggers, affecting their memory and rehearsal and cognitive reconstruction (Curci & Luminet Reference Curci and Luminet2006). This provides yet another example of the reciprocal relationship between collective identity and memories of relevant events (Wang & Aydin Reference Wang, Aydin, Luminet and Curci2008).

The narrative about historical events shared within a group contributes to greater fusion, which, in turn, leads to further biases in perception of history. This reciprocal process shows how strong group identification, together with epistemic conformity (Klar & Bilewicz Reference Klar and Bilewicz2017), allows people to distort historical truth for the sake of the group's cohesion. At the same time, such distortion of historical truth makes significant euphoric and dysphoric aspects of a group's history more salient, thereby contributing to higher levels of group fusion.