The DOI matches its Crossref record; 41 of the 43 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
How Do Rituals Affect Cooperation?: An Experimental Field Study Comparing Nine Ritual Types
Abstract
Collective rituals have long puzzled anthropologists, yet little is known about how rituals affect participants. Our study investigated the effects of nine naturally occurring rituals on prosociality. We operationalized prosociality as (1) attitudes about fellow ritual participants and (2) decisions in a public goods game. The nine rituals varied in levels of synchrony and levels of sacred attribution. We found that rituals with synchronous body movements were more likely to enhance prosocial attitudes. We also found that rituals judged to be sacred were associated with the largest contributions in the public goods game. Path analysis favored a model in which sacred values mediate the effects of synchronous movements on prosocial behaviors. Our analysis offers the first quantitative evidence for the long-standing anthropological conjecture that rituals orchestrate body motions and sacred values to support prosociality. Our analysis, moreover, adds precision to this old conjecture with evidence of a specific mechanism: ritual synchrony increases perceptions of oneness with others, which increases sacred values to intensify prosocial behaviors.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“For example, the visual synchronization of physical movements increases feelings of affiliation (32), self-esteem (33), compassion and altruistic behavior (34), rapport (35), and increased prosocial behavior (36), while during arguments, synchrony decreases (37).”
From New Frontiers in Heart Rate Variability and Social Coherence Research: Techniques, Technologies, and Implications for Improving Group Dynamics and Outcomes (2017) · cites this paper as [36]
In the citing paper
“Group rituals that involve more synchronous body movements are associated with more trust, cooperation, and feelings of oneness than are other group rituals (Fischer et al., 2013).”
From The Psychology of Rituals: An Integrative Review and Process-Based Framework (2018) · cites this paper as Fischer et al., 2013
In the citing paper
“Since then, a host of empirical studies have provided evidence linking group rituals to positive social outcomes, such as cooperation, social cohesion, and perceived social support (Fischer, Callander, Reddish, & Bulbulia, 2013;Hopkins et al., 2015;Páez et al., 2007;Páez, Rimé, Basabe, Wlodarczyk, & Zumeta, 2015;Ruffle & Sosis, 2007;Sosis & Ruffle, 2003).”
From The Psychology of Rituals: An Integrative Review and Process-Based Framework (2018) · cites this paper as Fischer, Callander, Reddish, & Bulbulia, 2013
In the citing paper
“Supporting this, research has shown that rituals that are judged to be more sacred or meaningful are associated with more cooperation and feelings of oneness than are other group rituals (Fischer et al., 2013).”
From The Psychology of Rituals: An Integrative Review and Process-Based Framework (2018) · cites this paper as Fischer et al., 2013
Citations
Cites
THE ELEMENTARY FORMS OF RELIGIOUS LIFE
Durkheim, É., & Swain, J. W. (1916) · AJN American Journal of Nursing · doi:10.2307/3405938 · Cited by 10,708
Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness.
Aron, A., Aron, E. N., & Smollan, D. (1992) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.63.4.596 · Cited by 5,157
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life:
(2011) · Lutterworth Press eBooks · doi:10.2307/j.ctt1cgf6tc.14 · Cited by 3,319
Is Anybody out There? Antecedents of Trust in Global Virtual Teams
Jarvenpaa, S. L., Knoll, K., & Leidner, D. E. (1998) · Journal of Management Information Systems · doi:10.1080/07421222.1998.11518185 · Cited by 1,906
Wiltermuth, S. S., & Heath, C. (2009) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02253.x · Cited by 1,717
Common fate, similarity, and other indices of the status of aggregates of persons as social entities
Campbell, D. T. (2007) · Systems Research and Behavioral Science · doi:10.1002/bs.3830030103 · Cited by 1,597
It's All in the Timing: Interpersonal Synchrony Increases Affiliation
Hove, M. J., & Risen, J. L. (2009) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.2009.27.6.949 · Cited by 1,334 · cited 2×
“Studies investigating synchronous behaviors among pairs (dyadic synchrony and mimicry) show that partners who match each other’s postures, motions, and vocalizations tend to express higher levels of subjective liking, tend to sense enhanced oneness with others (entitativity), and tend to become more charitable (Campbe…”
BackgroundVarieties of groups and the perception of group entitativity.
Lickel, B. A., Hamilton, D. L., Wieczorkowska, G., Lewis, A. C., Sherman, S. J., & Uhles, A. N. (2000) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.2.223 · Cited by 942
In Gods we Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion
Hinde, R. A. (2003) · Ars Disputandi · doi:10.1080/15665399.2003.10819760 · Cited by 927
Thinking the unthinkable: sacred values and taboo cognitions
Tetlock, P. E. (2003) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(03)00135-9 · Cited by 915
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Fetterman, D. M. (1998). Ethnography (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
- Schelling, T. (2006). Micromotives and Macrobehavior (Kindle edition). New York: W. W. Norton. Originally published in 1978.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–190 of 190
Religious Belief, Evolution of
Geertz, A. W. (2015) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.81055-7 · Cited by 5
Williams, K. E., & Bentley, L. (2026) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs16010100 · Cited by 10
Bortolini, T., Newson, M., Tovar-Moll, F., Latgé-Tovar, S., Whitehouse, H., Moll, J., & Fischer, R. D. (2025) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106666 · Cited by 8
Self-citationCollective rituals in team sports: Implications for team resilience and communal coping
Bonk, D., Leprince, C., Tamminen, K. A., & Doron, J. (2019) · Movement & Sport Sciences - Science & Motricité · doi:10.1051/sm/2019007 · Cited by 6
The Psychology of Religious Rituals and Practices
Yaden, D. B. (2020) · Religion, spirituality and health: a social scientific approach · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-27953-0_2 · Cited by 5
Mechanisms and models of interpersonal synchrony in promoting cooperation
Ma, X., & Cui, L. (2022) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2022.01317 · Cited by 4
Hornbeck, R. G., & Barrett, J. L. (2020) · Ethos · doi:10.1111/etho.12267 · Cited by 4
Cao, J., Kong, D. T., & Galinsky, A. D. (2020) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797620939532 · Cited by 4
The effects of model age and familiarity on children's reproduction of ritual behaviour
Wang, C., & Wang, Z. (2023) · British Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjdp.12448 · Cited by 4
Well-Being Enhancing Rituals in India
Midha, S., & Singh, K. K. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-99-2397-7_12 · Cited by 5
Tan, J. H. W., & Jayasekara, D. N. (2024) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.12555 · Cited by 3
Maternal religiosity and social support to mothers: helpers’ religious identity matters
Chvaja, R., Spake, L., Hassan, A., Shenk, M. K., Sosis, R. H., Sear, R., & Shaver, J. H. (2025) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2025.2454705 · Cited by 7
Warrior institutions and martial networks in Viking-Age Scandinavia
Raffield, B., Bønding, S., Cooijmans, C., Moen, M., & Taggart, D. (2025) · Journal of Anthropological Archaeology · doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2025.101661 · Cited by 3
Misiak, M., Kavanagh, C. M., Muzzulini, B., & Whitehouse, H. (2025) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.70024 · Cited by 3
Coerced coordination, not cooperation
Soler, M., & Lenfesty, H. L. (2016) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x15000540 · Cited by 3
Dickie, J. F. (2022) · The Bible Translator · doi:10.1177/20516770211066935 · Cited by 3
Implications of Shifts in Dominant Mediums on Media-Induced Feelings of Connectedness
Oliver, M. B., Liu, Y., de Leeuw, R. N. H., Raney, A. A., Das, E., & Mares, M. (2024) · Asian Communication Research · doi:10.20879/acr.2024.21.004 · Cited by 3
Building community in the church between “insiders” and “outsiders”
Dickie, J. F. (2020) · Acta Theologica · doi:10.18820/23099089/actat.v40i1.4 · Cited by 3
Rituals and Solidarity: The Effects of Synchrony and Complementarity on Cooperation
Liu, Y., & Lin, T. (2019) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/s0882-614520190000036008 · Cited by 4
Yim, J., Foulk, T. A., Klotz, A. C., & Schilpzand, P. (2025) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/01492063251355251 · Cited by 3
Cyborg synchrony: integrating human physiology into affective generative music AI
Ng, S., Sargent, K., & Snell, J. J. (2025) · Frontiers in Computer Science · doi:10.3389/fcomp.2025.1593905 · Cited by 2
Xie, W., Chu, Z., & Li, L. (2025) · Systems · doi:10.3390/systems13100860 · Cited by 2
Emotional bonds: Bridging the gap between evolutionary and humanistic accounts of religious belief
Turner, L. (2020) · Archive for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1177/0084672420909436 · Cited by 2
Piven, S. D., Fischer, R. D., Shaver, J. H., Mogan, R., Karl, J. A., Kesberg, R., Richardson, A., Singh, P., Tewari, S., & Bulbulia, J. A. (2022) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2021.2006288 · Cited by 3
Self-citationStacey, T. (2022) · Policy Press eBooks · doi:10.1332/policypress/9781529215489.001.0001 · Cited by 2
Religion gegen Angst und Wut? Evangelische Religiosität und Politikvertrauen in Deutschland
Roleder, F. (2023) · Zeitschrift für Religion Gesellschaft und Politik · doi:10.1007/s41682-023-00160-5 · Cited by 4
Why some coalitions benefit from historical myths more than others
Snijder, L. L., & Dreu, C. K. W. D. (2024) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x24000657 · Cited by 2
How Counselors Can Help Faith Communities Lower Suicide Risk: a Qualitative Study
Mason, K. E., Robinson, F., Yang, Z., Colaneri, K., Buescher, L., Lee, J.-I., & Smith, A. D. (2022) · Counseling and Values · doi:10.1163/2161007x-67020006 · Cited by 2
Fischer, R. D., Karl, J. A., Daly, A., & Bortolini, G. N. (2025) · Topoi · doi:10.1007/s11245-025-10189-1 · Cited by 2
Self-citationStacey, T. (2022) · Bristol University Press eBooks · doi:10.51952/9781529215502 · Cited by 3
Breaking the Spell: Reconsidering Cognitive and Evolutionary Approaches to Atheism
Szocik, K., & Messick, K. J. (2020) · Method & Theory in the Study of Religion · doi:10.1163/15700682-12341501 · Cited by 3
The Binding and Blinding Effects of Collective Ritual: Intergroup Biases and Processes
Hobson, N. M. (2013) · TSpace (University of Toronto) · Cited by 2
In Sync! Design for Social Connection
Pyykko, S. J., & Kenning, G. (2022) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-05900-1_5 · Cited by 4
Self-deprivation and cognition in Ramadan: could fasting practice improve inhibitory control?
Rad, M. S. (2025) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2025.2487277 · Cited by 1
Embodied religion in the post-pandemic digital age: insights from seven European countries
Črnič, A., & Jurekovič, I. (2026) · Religion State & Society · doi:10.1080/09637494.2026.2617526 · Cited by 7
Sun, X., Ni, S., & Wu, M. (2026) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108867 · Cited by 1
Turner, L. (2021) · Zygon® · doi:10.1111/zygo.12724 · Cited by 1
Partnering Up: The Social Cognition of Partnered Interaction in Life and Art
Brown, S. (2022) · Frontiers in Communication · doi:10.3389/fcomm.2022.834001 · Cited by 1
Preferred Tempo and Its Relation to Personal and Shared Senses of Time and Temporal Flow
Henry, M. J., & Kotz, S. A. (2023) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780192896254.003.0010 · Cited by 1
Purzycki, B. G., & Bendixen, T. (2025) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108894357.029 · Cited by 1
Rossano, M. J. (2019) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780429488818-18 · Cited by 1
Organisationale Rituale und ihre Bedeutung für verlässliche Kooperation
Rennung, M., & Göritz, A. S. (2021) · Uniscope · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-34497-9_8 · Cited by 1
Rituale: Kultur und Psychologie, Pro und Kontra
Spitzer, M. (2022) · Nervenheilkunde · doi:10.1055/a-1755-7982 · Cited by 1
Rituals, rigidity and cognitive load: A competitive test of ritual benefits for stress
Karl, J. A. (2018) · doi:10.26686/wgtn.17068019 · Cited by 1
Hobson, N. M. (2017) · TSpace (University of Toronto) · Cited by 1
Athletes' Perceptions of Pre-game Rituals in Open-skill Sports
Bonk, D. (2020) · TSpace (University of Toronto) · Cited by 1
Pointer, L. (2019) · Open Access Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka (Figshare) · doi:10.26686/wgtn.17142065 · Cited by 1
Did we all go together when we went? Considering the adaptive importance of risky joint action
Stibbard‐Hawkes, D. N. E. (2023) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2023.2197983 · Cited by 1
What Motivates Support for Freedom of Religious Belief? A Multi-Country StudyPreprint
Kavanagh, C. M., Klein, J. W., Atreya, G., Hussain, S., Mpyangu, C. M., & Whitehouse, H. (2023) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/x8knb · Cited by 1
Tasevoli, I., & Fulmer, A. G. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-38971-9_531-1 · Cited by 1
The Effects of Collective Ritual on Affect, Unity, and Pro-Sociality: A Naturalistic Study
Callander, R. (2013) · Open Access Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka (Figshare) · doi:10.26686/wgtn.17005075
Self-citationLa mente rituale. Dalla nascita del rito all'origine delle istituzioni umane
Chiera, A. (2014) · Iris (Roma Tre University) · doi:10.4396/211
Interaction Rituals and CooperationPreprint
Bruggeman, J. (2013) · arXiv (Cornell University)
Social Effects of Causal Opacity and Pain in Rituals
McCambridge, L. J. E. (2015) · Otago University Research Archive (University of Otago)
Bulbulia, J. A. (2014) · Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion · doi:10.1558/jcsr.v2i1.75
Self-citationEvolutionary Approaches to Understanding Religion
Durrant, R., & Poppelwell, Z. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-64428-8_2
Kapitány, R., & Kavanagh, C. M. (2018) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x17002102
Reconhecidos e valorizados: a sedução nos ritos, rituais e cerimônias em uma Agência Bancária
Medeiros, C. R. D. O., & Silva, C. D. (2018) · Revista Gestão em Análise · doi:10.12662/2359-618xregea.v7i2.p57-75.2018
Gourdine, C. G., Edgren, J., Trice, T., & Zlatic, J. (2019) · The Journal of Bahá’í Studies · doi:10.31581/jbs-29.4.3(2019
Concealable Stigmatized Identity Disclosure as a Possible Perturbation to Complex Social Systems.
Douglas, H. M., Toohey, S., Richardson, M. J., & Kallen, R. W. (2020) · eScholarship (California Digital Library)
An Exploratory Study of Corporate Singing and Organizational Culture
Dyck, B., & Caza, A. (2021) · Journal of Management Spirituality & Religion · doi:10.51327/mdon6306
Moving as one: Agency and social unity in joint action and its breakdownPreprint
Cuijpers, L., Koudenburg, N., & Marsh, K. L. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/rbv7a
Serpent Handling: Toward a Cognitive Account-honoring the scholarship of Ralph WPreprint
Coleman, T. J., III, Silver, C., & Jong, J. (2021) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/x23eq
Om marionetdukker og andre sælsomme ting
Geertz, A. W. (2022) · Religionsvidenskabelig Skriftrække · doi:10.7146/rvs.v1i.132822
Community: Creating Belief with Others
Simpson, Z. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-99056-5_8
Ritual: Creating Belief Through Repetition and Imagination
Simpson, Z. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-99056-5_9
Stacey, T. (2022) · Bristol University Press eBooks · doi:10.46692/9781529215502
Dunbar, R. (2023) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2023.2168739
Rethinking the roots of human collective ritual
Alcorta, C. S. (2023) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2023.2197984
Wang, X. (2023) · Management for professionals · doi:10.1007/978-981-99-6183-2_2
The Role of Barrier Crossing Leadership in the Promotion of Religious FreedomPreprint
Kavanagh, C. M., Atreya, G., Klein, J. W., Mpyangu, C. M., Hussain, S., Njie, H., Mabulla, A. Z. P., & Whitehouse, H. (2023) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/csf6r
Evolution of the Parietal Lobe in the Formation of an Enhanced “Sense of Self”
Cohen, D., & Johnstone, B. (2024) · Journal of Cognition and Culture · doi:10.1163/15685373-12340180
Malle, B., & Robbins, P. (2025) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108894357.026
Prosocial Behavior: Punishing God
Groome, S. S., Shevlane, L., & Li, N. P. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-38971-9_1068-1
Prosocial Behaviour: Punitive Religion Impact On
Groome, S. S., Shevlane, L., & Li, N. P. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-38971-9_1069-1
Are cultures immune systems or blueprints of a systemic design?
Lang, M. (2025) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2025.2490743
Hominin brain evolution and human culture: a commentary on Why Cultures Persist
Alcorta, C. S. (2025) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2025.2490749
Housing and mental health: an evolutionary perspective
Brar, G., Hunt, A., Mulryan, N., & O'Connell, H. P. (2025) · Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/ipm.2025.10101
Pettitt, P., & Garfınkel, Y. (2024) · World Archaeology · doi:10.1080/00438243.2024.2593169
Cultural transmission during Luhya mourning rituals
Asatsa, S., Lew‐Levy, S., Makunda, J., Gichimu, E. W., Mwende, S., & Kapitány, R. (2025) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2024.0271 · Cited by 1
Kapitány, R., Kavanagh, C., Buhrmester, M. D., Newson, M., & Whitehouse, H. (2018) · OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.17605/osf.io/53waf
Liang, M., Zheng, J., & Wang, Q. (2026) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs16050649
Sails, Songs, and Well-Being: Traditional Arts in The Pacific Diaspora
Fox, S. H. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-11363-4_5
Dillion, D., Cao, S., Watts, J., Lightner, A. D., & Jackson, J. C. (2026) · Evolution and Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2026.106943
Magic and ritual as affiliative strategies in response to ostracism threat
Jagiello, R., & Whitehouse, H. (2026) · Evolution and human behavior · doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2026.106985
Metadata
- Authors
- Fischer, R., Callander, R., Reddish, P., & Bulbulia, J.
- Affiliations
- Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)
- Masaryk University (CZ)
- Corresponding author
- Bulbulia, Joseph
- Venue
- Human Nature
- Published
- 2013-05-11
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 115-125
- ISSN
- 1045-6767 (ISSN-L)
- 1936-4776
- OpenAlex
- W93630498
- Cited by
- 191
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 8
- FWCI
- 40.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Human Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Violence, Religion, and Philosophy
- Keywords
- collective ritual, prosocial behavior, sacred values, body movement, public goods game, cooperation, prosocial attitudes
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Ceremonial Behavior, Cooperative Behavior, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, New Zealand, Social Values, Gift Giving, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
