Solidarity among emergency survivors stems from perceiving strangers as oneself.

Evidence

A self-categorization approach to solidarity among emergency survivors The present paper argues that SCT (Turner, 1982; Turner et al., 1987) can provide such a model of sociality, explaining at least some aspects of novel crowd behaviour in emergencies. SCT suggests that cognitive representations of the self take the form of self-categorizations, which may range in inclusively from personal selfcategorizations to shared, collective self-categorizations. Seeing oneself as personally interchangeable with other in-group members on some relevant dimension – ‘depersonalization’ – means not only sharing a definition of social reality with these others but perceiving them as part of self. Emotionally and behaviourally, this means being able to coordinate with them, caring about them, and acting in their interests, even if these others are not personally liked or even known. In short, then, SCT would suggest that mutual aid and other aspects of solidarity are a function of shared identity. — John Drury and Chris Cocking and Steve Reicher, Everyone for themselves? A comparative…, 14

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies ‘depersonalization’ as a core social-categorization-theory term meaning perceived interchangeability with in-group members, distinct from the psychoanalytic sense.
• XREF: Connects to social identity theory literature and to group dynamics in crowds more broadly. — connects to: People act collectively in emergencies despite being conditioned toward individual self-interest. — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 14; Shared fate in danger makes strangers act as one group offering help. — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 47; A shared identity can emerge within a crowd only after an emergency begins. — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 61 (+17 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John Drury and Chris Cocking and Steve Reicher, Everyone for themselves? A comparative…, 14

Related

• Disaster survivors in a crowd describe intense unity with strangers. (similarity 0.90)
• Shared fate in danger makes strangers act as one group offering help. (similarity 0.90)
• Shared identity that enables crowd helping often emerges during an emergency rather than pre-existing. (similarity 0.90)
• Shared danger makes people feel close to strangers and motivates mutual help. (similarity 0.90)
• A shared identity can emerge within a crowd only after an emergency begins. (similarity 0.90)
• Shared emergent identity from common fate explains collective support amid disasters (similarity 0.90)
• Shared social identity is the causal variable predicting solidarity among disaster strangers. (similarity 0.89)
• Post-disaster solidarity toward strangers stems from emergent shared social identity, not prior personal ties. (similarity 0.89)
• Survivors who experienced unity in an emergency also helped others. (similarity 0.89)
• Shared danger of death heightens unity among strangers in an emergency. (similarity 0.89)
• Shared identity can emerge rapidly during, not before, an emergency. (similarity 0.89)
• Shared social identity produces adaptive psychosocial resilience that aids group survival in emergencies. (similarity 0.88)
• People act collectively in emergencies despite being conditioned toward individual self-interest. (similarity 0.88)
• Emergency responders should deliberately cultivate shared identity with survivors. (similarity 0.88)
• Observing others act together drives disaster solidarity more than identification (similarity 0.88)

Broader Connections

• Shared social identity is the causal variable predicting solidarity among disaster strangers. #expands (0.92) — John Drury and Evangelos Ntontis, A SOCIAL IDENTITY MODEL OF COLLECTIVE…, 26
• Shared danger of death heightens unity among strangers in an emergency. #corroborates (0.90) — John Drury and Chris Cocking and Steve Reicher, Everyone for themselves? A comparative…, 104
• Greater perceived threat of death produces more solidarity among strangers, not more competition. #corroborates (0.88) — John Drury and Chris Cocking and Steve Reicher, Everyone for themselves? A comparative…, 110
• Disaster survivors in a crowd describe intense unity with strangers. #exemplifies (0.85) — John Drury and Chris Cocking and Steve Reicher, Everyone for themselves? A comparative…, 61
• Shared social identity produces adaptive psychosocial resilience that aids group survival in emergencies. #expands (0.85) — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 107