Behind the Blackpill: Self-Verification and Identity Fusion Predict Endorsement of Violence Against Women Among Self-Identified Incels

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.