Identity fusion is a visceral feeling of oneness with a group, known to strongly motivate extreme pro‐group behaviour. However, the evidence on its causes is currently limited, primarily due to the prevalence of cross‐sectional research. To address this gap, this study analysed the evolution of fusion in response to a massive collective ritual, Korrika—a race in support of the Basque language—, over three time periods: before (n = 748) and immediately following participation (n = 402), and 7 weeks thereafter (n = 273). Furthermore, we explored the potential mediating roles of two key factors: perceived emotional synchrony, a sense of emotional unity among participants that emerges during collective rituals, and kama muta (moved by love), an unexplored emotion in relation to fusion, which arises from feelings of shared essence. The proportion of fused participants increased significantly after participation and remained stable for at least 7 weeks. Perceived emotional synchrony and kama muta apparently explained the effect of participants' behavioural involvement in the ritual on subsequent fusion, but only among those who were not previously fused with Korrika participants. We conclude that emotional processes during collective rituals play a fundamental role in the construction of identity fusion.

中文翻译：

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探索身份融合的起源：随着时间的推移，共同的情感体验会激活与群体的融合


身份融合是一种与群体一体的发自内心的感觉，众所周知，它会强烈激发极端的亲群体行为。然而，目前关于其原因的证据有限，主要是由于横断面研究的盛行。为了解决这一差距，这项研究分析了响应大规模集体仪式的融合的演变，科里卡——一场支持巴斯克语的竞赛——，分三个时期进行：之前（ n = 748) 以及参与后立即 ( n = 402），以及此后 7 周（ n = 273）。此外，我们还探讨了两个关键因素的潜在中介作用：感知到的情感同步性、集体仪式中出现的参与者之间的情感统一感，以及卡马穆塔（被爱所感动），一种与融合有关的未被探索的情感，它产生于共同本质的感觉。参与后融合参与者的比例显着增加，并在至少 7 周内保持稳定。感知到的情绪同步性和 kama muta 显然解释了参与者在仪式中的行为参与对随后融合的影响，但仅限于那些之前没有融合的人科里卡参与者。我们得出的结论是，集体仪式中的情感过程在身份融合的构建中发挥着重要作用。