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Didier Anzieu proposed the [[notion ]] of heroic identification in connection with his [[concept ]] of the group [[illusion ]] (1971). Anzieu extensively studied group dynamics and made significant contributions to that field with his [[ideas ]] of the skin-ego (1984, 1989) and [[psychic ]] envelopes.By "group illusion," he wrote, "I mean a [[particular ]] [[mental ]] [[state ]] that is seen in [[natural ]] groups as well as in therapeutic or formative groups, and that is spontaneously verbalized by group members in the following [[form]]: 'We are doing well together; we're a [[good ]] group; our [[leader ]] or our supervisor is a good leader, a good supervisor" (1971). According to Anzieu, [[three ]] [[conditions ]] are necessary to establish the group illusion: the designation of one group member as a [[victim ]] or scapegoat ("One of us is bad"), the formulation of an egalitarian [[theory ]] ("We are all alike"), and finally, the [[refusal ]] to take [[gender ]] differences into account ("We are all [[born ]] [[outside ]] of [[sexual ]] relations"). With [[regard ]] to this last condition, he further explained, "The group illusion expresses an [[unconscious ]] [[statement ]] according to which group members are not born in the same way as individuals, but are instead a product of parthenogenesis, [[living ]] within the [[body ]] of a fertile and all-powerful [[mother]]" (1971).With this set of [[conceptual ]] tools, Anzieu reminded us that the group derives from a founding [[father]], and as [[Freud ]] showed in "Group [[psychology ]] and the [[analysis ]] of the ego" (1921c), the great majority of group members are, or believe themselves to be, equally loved by the founding hero. "For the founder, the group serves as a fantasized resonator that gives body to his ideas, and as a mediator for making these ideas known to a broad [[public]]. For the group members, the founder [[satisfies ]] their heroic desires and proves that they can obtain the [[love ]] of the [[superego]]" (Anzieu, 1984).Such, then, are group members' identifications with the heroism of the group's founder and leader. As was often his [[practice]], Anzieu drew examples from mythology to support this concept, which enriches and complements the classical [[Freudian ]] views on identification.

# [[Freud, Sigmund]]. (1921c). [[Group psychology ]] and the analysis of the ego. SE, 18: 65-143.