Social Identification in Times of Crisis: How Need to Belong, Perspective Taking, and Cognitive Closure Relate to Changes in Social Identification

In a world shaped by global crises—from pandemics to international armed conflicts to an escalating climate crisis—research into human reactions to and coping with uncertainty is becoming increasingly important. The fundamental role of identification with social groups in maintaining well-being during times of threat has been emphasized. In this context, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between interindividual differences— need to belong, perspective taking, need for cognitive closure—and changes in social identification. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a two-wave online study with a sample of 1008 participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined changes in social identification in narrow social groups (i.e., family, friends, neighbors) and broader social categories (i.e., own country, Europe, humanity). We found an overall increase in social identification in times of crises across all groups. The results show that need to belong (at Time 1) was positively related to increases in social identification (at Time 2) for all groups, while the positive association between perspective taking (at Time 1) and increases in social identification (at Time 2) was observed for almost all groups except neighbors. Contrary to our expectations, however, the need for cognitive closure (at Time 1) showed no association with changes in identification with any social group (at Time 2). These findings emphasize the importance of interindividual differences for our understanding of changes in social identification over time.