Collective identity

The term collective identity is a sense of belonging to a group (the collective) that is so strong that a person who identifies with the group will dedicate his or her life to the group over individual identity: he or she will defend the views of the group and assume risks for the group, sometimes as great as loss of life. The cohesiveness of the collective goes beyond community, as the collective suffers the pain of grief from the loss of a member.

Risks
Within the typical collective, agreement is valued over debate, creating a "comfortable cocoon" for groupthink.

Collective identity in science fiction

 * The Borg