You are invited to this week’s special talk organized by the Department of Psychology.
“The Ties that Bind Us“
Speaker: Jack Klein, University of Hong Kong
Date: 11.03.2026, Wednesday
Time: 12:30 PM
Room: H 232 (FEASS Building)
Abstract: The “ties that bind us” to important ingroups and one another are fundamental drivers of human behavior, motivating both extreme conflict and cooperation. In this talk I will explore how strong ingroup identities shape intergroup relations and motivate collective action. First, I introduce the Fusion-Secure Base Hypothesis, presenting evidence from multi-national field research demonstrating that identity fusion – a powerful form of ingroup alignment typically associated with intergroup violence – can foster intergroup cooperation with non-threatening outgroups. Second, I discuss the role of identity in motivating real-world collective action, drawing on experimental, longitudinal, and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data from protesters in Hong Kong. Finally, I outline how strong ingroup identities fit within social psychological theorising more broadly, challenging the field’s overfocus on the malleability of the self and offering a new framework for understanding the enduring nature of strong ingroup identities.
Bio: Dr. Jack Klein is a Research Assistant Professor in the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He received his PhD in social psychology from the University of Melbourne and previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Hong Kong. Jack’s research is primarily focused on identity and intergroup relations, with a particular interest in the extreme form of group alignment known as identity fusion.