PAROCHIAL ALTRUISM (GROUP VIOLENCE)…AND FOOTBALL
Inter-group conflict
What leads some group members to fight and die for their group, while others favour peaceful solutions? Extreme group bonding among football fans may help shed light on this. Our samples come from four continents, including Indonesian fundamentalist Muslims and hardcore fans, British football fans, Australian ultras, and Brazilian torcidas organizadas. Much of our research has focused on the. mediators and moderators of this bonding, including mechanisms such as synchrony and perceptions of threat, to influence hostility toward rivals.
OUTPUTS:
Newson, M. (Jul 24, 2021) Why do hardcore football fans behave like rutting stags? Psyche.
Academic publications
Bortolini, T., Newson, M., Tovar-Moll, F., Latgé-Tovar, S., Whitehouse, H., Moll, J. (2025) Effects of synchronous chanting and identity fusion on perceived ingroup formidability, outgroup threat, and parochial altruism among soccer fans. Evolution & Human Behavior. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106666
Newson, M., Peitz, L., Wibisono, S., Knijnik, J., White, F., Whitehouse, H. (2025) Anti-social behavior and soccer identities: different continents, same mindset? Self & Identity. DOI: 10.1080/15298868.2024.2423829
Newson, M., White, F., & Whitehouse, H. (2023) Does loving a group mean hating its rivals? Exploring the relationship between ingroup cohesion and outgroup hostility among soccer fans. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. DOI: 10.1080/1612197X.2022.2084140
Newson, M. (2021) High and highly bonded: Fused football fans who use cocaine are most likely to be aggressive toward rivals. International Journal of Drug Policy. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103263
White, F., Newson, M., Verrelli, S., Whitehouse, H. (2021) Pathways to Prejudice and Outgroup hostility: Group alignment and intergroup conflict among football fans. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. DOI: 10.1111/jasp.12773
Knijnik, J., & Newson, M. (2020) ‘Tribalism’, identity fusion and football fandom in Australia: the case of Western Sydney. Soccer & Society. DOI: 10.1080/14660970.2020.1802254
Newson, M., Shiramizu, V., Buhrmester, M., Hattori, W. T., Jong, J., Yamamoto, E., & Whitehouse, H. (2020) Devoted fans release more cortisol when watching live soccer matches. Stress & Health. DOI: 10.1002/smi.2924
Buhrmester, M. D., Newson, M. (joint first authors), Vázquez, A., Hattori, W. T., & Whitehouse, H. (2018). Winning at any cost: Identity fusion, group essence, and maximizing ingroup advantage. Self and Identity. DOI: 10.1080/15298868.2018.1452788
Newson, M., Bortolini, T., Buhrmester, M., da Silva, S., Acquino, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2018). Brazil’s Football Warriors: Social bonding and inter-group violence. Evolution and Human Behavior. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.06.010
Bortolini, T., Newson, M., Natividade, J., Vázquez, A., Gómez, Á (2018). Identity Fusion Predicts Endorsement of Pro-group Behaviours Targeting Nationality, Religion or Football in Brazilian Samples. British Journal of Social Psychology. DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12235
Newson, M. (2017) Football, Fan Violence, and Identity Fusion. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. DOI: 10.1177/1012690217731293
COLLABORATORS:
Dr Tiago Bortolini (D'Or Institute for Research and Education, Rio, Brazil)
Prof Fiona White (Univ. Sydney, Australia)
Dr Jorge Knijnik (Univ. Western Sydney, Australia)
Susilo Wibisono (Univ. Queensland, Australia)
Vici Putera (Universitas Islam Bandung, Indonesia)
Prof Harvey Whitehouse (Univ. Oxford, UK)
Honor Gitsham (Univ. Cambridge)
