From “we” to “me”: Group identification enhances perceived personal control with consequences for health and well-being.

Abstract

There is growing recognition that identification with social groups can protect and enhance health and well-being, thereby constituting a kind of "social cure." The present research explores the role of control as a novel mediator of the relationship between shared group identity and well-being. Five studies provide evidence for this process. Group identification predicted significantly greater perceived personal control across 47 countries (Study 1), and in groups that had experienced success and failure (Study 2). The relationship was observed longitudinally (Study 3) and experimentally (Study 4). Manipulated group identification also buffered a loss of personal control (Study 5). Across the studies, perceived personal control mediated social cure effects in political, academic, community, and national groups. The findings reveal that the personal benefits of social groups come not only from their ability to make people feel good, but also from their ability to make people feel capable and in control of their lives.

Understanding defensive and secure in-group positivity: The role of collective narcissism

“…Similarly, the longitudinal study demonstrated that greater personal control predicted greater non-narcissistic in-group positivity measured six weeks later. Interestingly, non-narcissistic in-group positivity also increased feelings of personal control measured at Time 2, indicating that this type of in-group positivity may have desirable effects on individual functioning (see also Greenaway et al, 2015). This suggests that in-group positivity without the defensive component is secure and based on the strength of the individual self.…”

Between the Lines of Us and Them: Identity Threat, Anxious Uncertainty, and Reactive In-Group Affirmation: How Can Antisocial Outcomes be Prevented?

“…The latter effects of threatened personal control have been shown to be most pronounced when in addition to personal control threat, in-group agency was also at stake or when in-group identifi cation was high submitted ). Recently, Greenaway, Haslam, Cruwys, Branscombe, and Ysseldyk ( 2015 ) showed a direct link between social identifi cation and subjective control perception. In a set of studies, group identifi cation predicted stronger feelings of personal control among participants.…”

On the Association Between Greater Family Identification and Lower Paranoid Ideation Among Non-Clinical Individuals: Evidence From Cypriot and Spanish Students

“…Clearly, if stronger group identification paves the way for more supportive social interactions, provides protection from distressing mental states such as existential anxiety, and fosters a greater sense of personal control (which is also known to promote mental wellbeing; Greenaway et al, 2015;Ross & Mirowsky, 2013), then it can be assumed that group identification constitutes a form of social cure (Jetten, Haslam, & Haslam, 2012. Indeed, this is exactly what a substantial body of literature has demonstrated, with numerous studies confirming a link between group identification and mental health in a variety of social groups.…”

“…Furthermore, Sani, Herrera, and Bowe (2009) found that experimental participants who were instructed to reflect upon their own mortality exhibited more identification with their national in-group than control participants, arguably because group identification affords one a sense of meaning and structure that provides defense against existential anxiety. Additionally, Greenaway et al (2015) found that American community members who were primed with strong feelings of identification with the United States reported a greater sense of personal control over their life than community members who were primed with a low sense of identification, which the authors argued was due to the feelings of permanence and agency provided by national group identification.…”