Rejected and Excluded Forevermore, but Even More Devoted: Irrevocable Ostracism Intensifies Loyalty to the Group Among Identity-Fused Persons

• Published in: Personality & social psychology bulletin 2011-12, Vol.37 (12), p.1574-1586
• Main Authors: Gómez, Ángel, Morales, J. Francisco, Hart, Sonia, Vázquez, Alexandra, Swann, William B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Behavior; Extremes; Female; Humans; Ingroups; Loyalty; Male; Nationality; Ostracism; Outgroups; Personality; Social Distance; Social Identification; Social identity; Social interaction; Social psychology; Spain; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0146-1672; 1552-7433
• DOI: 10.1177/0146167211424580

When people are ostrasized (i.e., rejected and excluded) by either an outgroup or an ingroup, they may either withdraw or engage in compensatory activities designed to reaffirm their social identity as a group member. The authors proposed here that individual differences in identity fusion (an index of familial orientation toward the group) would moderate the tendency for people to display such compensatory activity. Consistent with this reasoning, the results of four experiments showed that irrevocable ostracism increased endorsement of extreme, pro-group actions (fighting and dying for the ingroup) among fused persons but not among nonfused persons. This effect emerged when an outgroup ostracized fused individuals due either to their nationality (Experiment 1) or their personal preferences (Experiment 2). Similarly, ostracism by the ingroup amplified the tendency for fused persons to both endorse extreme pro-group actions, refuse to leave the group (Experiment 3), and donate money to an ingroup member (Experiment 4). Finally, compensatory activities emerged even when ostracism was based on being “too good” for the group, suggesting that a desire for self-enhancement does not mediate such activities (Experiment 4).