Exploring the Foundations of Unilateral Loyalty in Coalitional Psychology: Identifying Mechanisms of Identity, Morality, and Disgust

• Published in: Evolutionary behavioral sciences 2021-04, Vol.15 (2), p.111-132
• Main Author: Kruger, Daniel J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Allegiance; Competition; Competitors; Convergence; Disgust; Fandom; Female; Human; Identity; Loyalty; Male; Morality; Psychology; Rivalry; Sport Psychology; Team sports; Treatment preferences; Women
• ISSN: 2330-2925; 2330-2933
• DOI: 10.1037/ebs0000236

Team sports and sports team fandom illustrate design features of evolved coalitional psychology, including components related to ingroup loyalty and intergroup competition. In psychological research, loyalty is behaviorally defined as staying within a group, even when one may benefit from leaving. Disloyalty is behaviorally defined as switching sides in a competition to obtain better outcomes. Three studies (Ns = 251, 938, 267) examined another form of disloyalty, simultaneously displaying allegiance to both the home team and its rival, as well as beliefs that true group loyalty is unilateral within a set of competitors. The study was framed in the context of a prominent university sports rivalry. Results suggest convergence between cognitive and affective pathways facilitating group loyalty, with both uniquely contributing mechanisms and relationships among these mechanisms. Identification with the home university, concern with moral issues related to group interests, concern with the rights, preferences, and treatment of individuals as autonomous social agents, and disgust sensitivity were associated with anger and disgust reactions to displays of mixed loyalty and beliefs that loyalty is unilateral among competitors. Concerns in binding and individualizing moral domains and team identity fusion were more consistently related to reactions and unilateral loyalty beliefs than were disgust domains. These constructs may facilitate group interests as part of our evolved coalitional psychology. Men consistently scored higher on beliefs in loyalty as unilateral and tended to score higher on constructs related to group interests. Women consistently scored higher on concern for the rights, preferences, and treatment of individuals. Public Significance Statement Psychological phenomena thought to promote group coordination and the interests of one's social group are related to concepts of group loyalty. Identification with the group, moral concerns, and disgust sensitivity to pathogens and sexual stimuli were related to the idea that people can only be loyal to one team in a set of competitors. Moral concerns were related to emotional reactions to individuals displaying dual loyalty to rival teams.