@article{ref1,
title="Behind the blackpill: self-verification and identity fusion predict endorsement of violence against women among self-identified incels",
journal="Personality and social psychology bulletin",
year="2023",
author="Rousis, Gregory J. and Martel, Francois Alexi and Bosson, Jennifer K. and Swann, William B. Jr",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="Incels (involuntary celibates) have advocated for and even enacted violence against women. We explored two mechanisms that may underly incels' actions: identity fusion and self-verification. Study 1 (n = 155) revealed stronger identity fusion (deep alignment) with the ingroup among men active in online incel communities compared to men active in other male-dominated groups. Study 2 (n = 113) showed that feeling self-verified by other incels predicted fusion with incels; fusion, in turn, predicted endorsement of past and future violence toward women. Study 3 (n = 283; preregistered) replicated the indirect effects from Study 2 and extended them by linking fusion to online harassment of women. All indirect effects were particularly strong among self-identified incels high in narcissism. We discuss the synergistic links between self-verification and identity fusion in fostering extreme behaviors and identify directions for future research.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0146-1672",
doi="10.1177/01461672231166481",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/01461672231166481"
}