Pathways to prejudice and outgroup hostility: Group alignment and intergroup conflict among football fans

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.