How do different forms of group alignment influence our attitudes toward outgroups? To answer this, the current fieldwork study explored how identification and identity fusion differentially impact outgroup anxiety, prejudice, and hostility toward rival football fan supporter groups in Australia. The community participants (N = 100) were members of two active fan groups who had experienced a history of intergroup tensions. The findings from the full path model confirmed that the predictor group alignment variables of identification and fusion were correlated, and the two outcome variables of outgroup prejudice and hostility were correlated, as predicted. The findings also revealed that fusion with one's club predicted outgroup hostility, but not prejudice, whereas identification with one's club predicted outgroup prejudice, but not hostility. Additionally, outgroup anxiety was found to significantly mediate the relationship between ingroup identification and outgroup prejudice, whereas a similar relationship was not found for fusion. These findings highlight the differential impact of group alignment (i.e., identification and identity fusion) on social constructs of outgroup anxiety, prejudice, and hostility. Empirically, this is the first study to demonstrate the workings of these distinct group alignment pathways in an applied setting involving hard-core football fans. We discuss the broader implications of these findings for a fuller understanding of the drivers of intergroup tensions and conflict.

中文翻译：

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偏见和外群体敌意的途径：足球迷之间的群体一致性和群体间冲突

不同形式的群体对齐如何影响我们对外群体的态度？为了回答这个问题，当前的实地调查探讨了身份认同和身份融合如何对澳大利亚对立的足球迷支持者团体的外群体焦虑、偏见和敌意产生不同的影响。社区参与者（N = 100) 是两个活跃的粉丝团体的成员，他们有过群际紧张的历史。全路径模型的结果证实，识别和融合的预测变量组对齐变量是相关的，外群体偏见和敌意这两个结果变量如预测的那样相关。研究结果还表明，与俱乐部的融合预示着外群体的敌意，但不是偏见，而与俱乐部的认同预示着外群体的偏见，而不是敌意。此外，外群焦虑被发现显着调节内群认同和外群偏见之间的关系，而在融合方面没有发现类似的关系。这些发现突出了群体对齐的不同影响（即，认同和身份融合）对外群体焦虑、偏见和敌意的社会建构。从经验上讲，这是第一个在涉及铁杆足球迷的应用环境中证明这些不同的群体对齐途径的工作原理的研究。我们讨论了这些发现的更广泛影响，以便更全面地了解群体间紧张局势和冲突的驱动因素。