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Humans are not the Borg: Personal and social selves function as components in a unified self-system

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 October 2016

Donelson R. Forsyth
Donelson R. Forsyth*
Affiliation:
Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173. dforsyth@richmond.edu https://facultystaff.richmond.edu/~dforsyth/
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Abstract

Does joining groups trigger a cascade of psychological processes that can result in a loss of individuality and lead to such outcomes as social loafing and poor decision-making? Rather than privileging the self comprising primarily individual qualities as the “true self,” a multilevel, multicomponent approach suggests that, in most cases, personal and collective identities are integrated and mutually sustaining.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 39 , 2016 , e149
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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