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I D E N T I T Y F U S I O N : A N E X A M I N AT I O N O F U N I O N S A N D P O L I T I C A L B E H AV I O R MARISSA THEYS J A M E S K R U E G E R , FA C U LT Y M E N T O R D E PA R T M E N T O F P O L I T I C A L S C I E N C E , U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N - O S H KO S H Figure 1. Logistic Regression of Fused Members for Government Spending and Stimulus CCES 2011 Recently research on identity fusion, the blending of an individual’s personal-self and social-self with that of a group, has attempted to explain why a person engages in unconventional political participation (Swann et al. 2009). Group members with fused identities differ from other identities in that rather than undergoing depersonalization to become a prototypical member of the group, they retain their personal identity which makes them more likely to participate in extreme pro-group actions (Swann et al. 2009). Unions offer a distinctive group to understand identity fusion within the United States. However, it remains to be seen whether fused union members have increased level of political participation over nonfused members. This paper examines data from the 2011 Cooperative Congressional Election Study of 1,000 participants. The findings do no support union identity as a trigger for political behavior, but suggest that having a fused union identity can trigger positive results for union specific issues. The implications for this hold that highly connected group members show attitudes that will favor the group’s political interests. What do we know about Identity Fusion? Support Stimulus (In percentages) Fusion -80.4** 173.6** Age Gender Income -0.1 88.2** 3.6 -1.6** -41.0** -5.0* 80.6* -4.3 82 57.4 49.8 -20.4 64.9** 6.5 -22.5 -46.8 -53.2 -58.4** -8.6 -20.6 113.5 43.4 -68.8** -53.2** 766.9** 312.8** 621.3** 194.1** -82.5** -65.5** 19.5 1000 261.7 1000 Data Abstract Spending -Favor Cutting Domestic (In percentages) Critical difference between identification: in identity fusion, a group member remains capable of personal behaviors within the group. (Swann et al. 2009). A combining of personal and social identities: conceptions of oneself as an individual become fused with one’s identity as a group member (Swann et al. 2009). Fused members show a higher relationship bond with their group causing tendencies to think that all members are functionally equivalent (Gomez et al. 2011b). Identity fusion allows the personal self and social self to move back and forth fluidly (Swann et al. 2012). In a test, fused participants preferred to sacrifice themselves rather than let a trolley kill five in-group members (Swann et al. 2010a). Fused identities are more visible when the participants are physically aroused (running, biking etc.) (Swann et al. 2010b) When ostracized, fused members respond by making pro-group actions (Gomez et al. (2011a). The results of the first two tests for political behavior (political sophistication and vote index) showed a plethora of indices that one might expect to see in a normal model, such as strong Republicans and strong Democrats having greater voting turnout as well as having greater sophistication. They also find males being more likely to vote and more participation with increased education. However, being fused to a union had no significant effect in these tests. These results may be explained by the notion in identity fusion of needing a trigger. In broad contexts such as voting or watching the news (information), a fused identity may not be triggered. However, if a news story came on about the state of the economy or whether Congress is voting to raise taxes, that “union” identity may be triggered. In the last three tests, union members were asked about unionspecific issues. The first was an OLS regression on the nation’s economy (Figure 2). With age and income came a greater likelihood that one would believe the economy was doing better. Most importantly, fused members showed a significant result that the economy was doing better off. The last two tests (Figure 1), found that fused members were strongly against cutting domestic spending while together they supported a stimulus package. Democrats were also against cutting domestic spending, but in favor of a stimulus. Republicans were in favor of cutting domestic spending, but against a stimulus package. The culmination of these last three tests on union-specific issues reveals a rather interesting find. Fused union members, when triggered by issues that highly relate to their status as a union member, will favor the position that most benefits the union. It shows that a union identity can trigger the specific group-related attitude in fused union members. Race Black Hispanic Race Other Religion Born Again Religion Protestant Mormon Atheist Other Religions Partisanship Strong Democrat Weak Democrat Strong Republican Weak Republican Constant N Note. *p< .1; **p<.05 Reference groups include White, Catholic and Independents. Data is from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, 2011. Figure 2. OLS Regression of Fused Members and National Economy CCES 2011 Fusion Age Gender Income No HS Education 2-yr College Methods The goal of this project was to see if a fused union identity would trigger any political behavior or political attitudes Union members were the test group. They are a the large group, making up more than 11 percent of wage and salary workers in the US (US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2013). Using a 2011 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, to test for fusion, participants were asked: “In each of the seven pairs of circles, one represents you, and the other represents the group. Which of these pictures best represents your relationship with unions?” From “Swann, William B. Jr, Ángel Gómez, D. C. Seyle, J. F.Morales, and Carmen Huici. 2009. "Identity Fusion: The Interplay of Personal and Social Identities in Extreme Group Behavior." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 96 (5) (05):995-1011. Three dependent variables were created. The first was a political sophistication model including factors of knowledge, information and interest. The second was a vote index which included vote status of 2008 and 2010 as well as registration status. The final dependent variable consisted of three questions regarding the economy, government spending and a stimulus bill. A combination of OLS regressions and logistic regressions were used to account for the control variables and to analyze the significance of fusion. Several of these include, race, age, income, religion, and education. Conclusion This research was significant because it showed that a fused identity activated attitudes. This study found that fused union members are more likely to pay attention and care about the issues that affect them (as a union member), and their group (the union). If triggered, a person who is fused will favor a group outcome even if they are not directly in a group situation. This follows the viewpoint of identity fusion because members still retain their personal identity. No one is specifically telling the union members what to support, and yet they favor group-specific outcomes such as domestic spending which would have a direct effect on the union. Most importantly this study affirmed a needed trigger for a fused identity to appear. If the circumstance is too broad, the fused identity may not show up, but smaller, more specific issues can still trigger a group identity in politics. Some College 4-yr College Post-Graduate Protestant Mormon Atheist Other Black Hispanic Other Constant Adjusted R2 Acknowledgements Special thanks goes out to the Mary Seaman of the McNair Program of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and the Political Science Department of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, especially James Krueger and Angie Hammond. The UW Oshkosh McNair Scholars Program is 100% funded through a TRIO grant from the United States Department of Education PR/Award Number P217A120210. For the year 2012/2013, the UW Oshkosh McNair Scholars Program received $220,000 in federal funds. -.470** (.091) .009** (.002) .015 (.067) -.019* (.011) .192 (.187) -.047 (.130) .146 (.087) .030 (.091) -.324** (.130) .093 (.087) -.022 (.233) -.286 (.170) -.182** (.090) -.530** .113 -.007 (.131) -.096 (.141) 3.401** (.196) .099 Note: Values are unstandardized regression coefficients. Values in parentheses are standard errors. *p< .1; **p<.05 Reference categories include HS education, Catholic, and White. 1= Gotten much better, 5= Gotten much worse. Data is from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, 2011