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.
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“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
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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
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