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Xygalatas D, Lang M, Maňo P, Krátký J, Fischer R. Emotional contagion in a collective ritual. Am J Hum Biol 2024:e24111. [PMID: 38838077 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Collective gatherings are often associated with the alignment of psychophysiological states between members of a crowd. While the process of emotional contagion has been studied extensively in dyads as well as at the population level, our understanding of its operation and dynamics as they unfold in real time in real-world group contexts remains limited. Employing a naturalistic design, we investigated emotional contagion in a public religious ritual by examining the relationship between interpersonal distance and autonomic arousal. We found that proximity in space was associated with heightened affective synchrony between participants in the context of the emotionally laden ritual (a Hindu procession) compared with an unstructured walk along the same route performed by the same group. Our findings contribute to the understanding of collective emotions and their underlying psychophysiological mechanisms, emphasizing the role of cultural practices in shaping collective emotional experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitris Xygalatas
- Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
- Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
| | - Martin Lang
- LEVYNA Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Peter Maňo
- LEVYNA Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Jan Krátký
- LEVYNA Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ronald Fischer
- Instituto D'Or de Pesquisa e Ensino, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- School of Psychology, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
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Maraldi EO, Taves A, Moll J, Hartle L, Moreira-de-Oliveira ME, Bortolini T, Fischer R. Nonordinary Experiences, Well-being and Mental Health: A Systematic Review of the Evidence and Recommendations for Future Research. JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH 2024; 63:410-444. [PMID: 37507577 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-023-01875-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Throughout history, people have reported nonordinary experiences (NOEs) such as feelings of oneness with the universe and hearing voices. Although these experiences form the basis of several spiritual and religious traditions, experiencing NOEs may create stress and uncertainty among those who experience such events. To provide a more systematic overview of the research linking NOEs with mental health, we present a systematic review of studies focusing on NOEs, well-being and mental health indicators. In a search of ProQuest and PsycInfo, we identified 725 references, of which 157 reported empirical data and were included in our review. Overall, the studies reviewed suggest that the relationship between NOEs and mental health is complex, varying according to a series of psychological and social factors. In particular, they suggest that appraisal processes play a fundamental role in the mental health outcomes of these experiences. However, we also highlight important methodological challenges such as the conceptual overlap between NOEs and well-being or psychopathological constructs, the conflation between experiences and appraisal processes in the assessment procedure, and the need for clearer assessment of the duration, controllability, impact on daily functioning and general context of the experiences. We provide a qualitative summary of empirical evidence and main themes of research and make recommendations for future investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Everton O Maraldi
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rua Diniz Cordeiro, 30, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, 22281-100, Brazil.
- Department of Religious Studies, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Ann Taves
- Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rua Diniz Cordeiro, 30, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, 22281-100, Brazil
| | - Larissa Hartle
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rua Diniz Cordeiro, 30, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, 22281-100, Brazil
| | - Maria E Moreira-de-Oliveira
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rua Diniz Cordeiro, 30, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, 22281-100, Brazil
| | - Tiago Bortolini
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rua Diniz Cordeiro, 30, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, 22281-100, Brazil
| | - Ronald Fischer
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rua Diniz Cordeiro, 30, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, 22281-100, Brazil
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
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Effects of predictable behavioral patterns on anxiety dynamics. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19240. [PMID: 36357536 PMCID: PMC9649661 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23885-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
People face stressors that are beyond their control and that maladaptively perpetuate anxiety. In these contexts, rituals emerge as a natural coping strategy helping decrease excessive anxiety. However, mechanisms facilitating these purported effects have rarely been studied. We hypothesized that repetitive and rigid ritual sequences help the human cognitive-behavioral system to return to low-entropy states and assuage anxiety. This study reports a pre-registered test of this hypothesis using a Czech student sample (n = 268). Participants were exposed to an anxiety induction and then randomly assigned to perform one of three actions: ritualized, control, and neutral (no-activity). We assessed the effects of this manipulation on cognitive and physiological anxiety, finding that ritualized action positively affected anxiety decrease, but this decrease was only slightly larger than in the other two conditions. Nevertheless, the between-condition differences in the reduction of physiological anxiety were well-estimated in participants more susceptible to anxiety induction.
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Lang M, Chvaja R, Grant Purzycki B, Václavík D, Staněk R. Advertising cooperative phenotype through costly signals facilitates collective action. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:202202. [PMID: 35620016 PMCID: PMC9128853 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.202202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Around the world, people engage in practices that involve self-inflicted pain and apparently wasted resources. Researchers theorized that these practices help stabilize within-group cooperation by assorting individuals committed to collective action. While this proposition was previously studied using existing religious practices, we provide a controlled framework for an experimental investigation of various predictions derived from this theory. We recruited 372 university students in the Czech Republic who were randomly assigned into either a high-cost or low-cost condition and then chose to play a public goods game (PGG) either in a group that wastes money to signal commitment to high contributions in the game or to play in the group without such signals. We predicted that cooperators would assort in the high-cost revealed group and that, despite these costs, they would contribute more to the common pool and earn larger individual rewards over five iterations of PGG compared with the concealed group and participants in the low-cost condition. The results showed that the assortment of cooperators was more effective in the high-cost condition and translated into larger contributions of the remaining endowment to the common pool, but participants in the low-cost revealed group earned the most. We conclude that costly signals can serve as an imperfect assorting mechanism, but the size of the costs needs to be carefully balanced with potential benefits to be profitable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Lang
- LEVYNA, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radim Chvaja
- LEVYNA, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- PRIGO Open Research, PRIGO University, Havířov, Czech Republic
| | | | - David Václavík
- Department for the Study of Religions, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Philosophy, Technical University of Liberec, Liberec, Czech Republic
| | - Rostislav Staněk
- Department of Economics, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
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Lang M, Xygalatas D, Kavanagh CM, Boccardi N, Halberstadt J, Jackson C, Martínez M, Reddish P, Tong EMW, Vázquez A, Whitehouse H, Yamamoto ME, Yuki M, Gomez A. Outgroup threat and the emergence of cohesive groups: A cross-cultural examination. GROUP PROCESSES & INTERGROUP RELATIONS 2021. [DOI: 10.1177/13684302211016961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary models and empirical evidence suggest that outgroup threat is one of the strongest factors inducing group cohesion; however, little is known about the process of forming such cohesive groups. We investigated how outgroup threat galvanizes individuals to affiliate with others to form engaged units that are willing to act on behalf of their in-group. A total of 864 participants from six countries were randomly assigned to an outgroup threat, environmental threat, or no-threat condition. We measured the process of group formation through physical proximity and movement mirroring along with activity toward threat resolution, and found that outgroup threat induced activity and heightened mirroring in males. We also observed higher mirroring and proximity in participants who perceived the outgroup threat as a real danger, albeit the latter results were imprecisely estimated. Together, these findings help understand how sharing subtle behavioral cues influences collaborative aggregation of people under threat.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Angel Gomez
- Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain
- ARTIS International, Spain
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Lang M, Krátký J, Xygalatas D. The role of ritual behaviour in anxiety reduction: an investigation of Marathi religious practices in Mauritius. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190431. [PMID: 32594878 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
While the occurrence of rituals in anxiogenic contexts has been long noted and supported by ethnographic, quantitative and experimental studies, the purported effects of ritual behaviour on anxiety reduction have rarely been examined. In the present study, we investigate the anxiolytic effects of religious practices among the Marathi Hindu community in Mauritius and test whether these effects are facilitated by the degree of ritualization present in these practices. Seventy-five participants first experienced anxiety induction through the public speaking paradigm and were subsequently asked to either perform their habitual ritual in a local temple (ritual condition) or sit and relax (control condition). The results revealed that participants in the ritual condition reported lower perceived anxiety after the ritual treatment and displayed lower physiological anxiety, which was assessed as heart-rate variability. The degree of ritualization in the ritual condition showed suggestive albeit variable effects, and thus further investigation is needed. We conclude the paper with a discussion of various mechanisms that may facilitate the observed anxiolytic effects of ritual behaviour and should be investigated in the future. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ritual renaissance: new insights into the most human of behaviours'.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Lang
- LEVYNA Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - J Krátký
- LEVYNA Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - D Xygalatas
- Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
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Singh P, Tewari S, Kesberg R, Karl JA, Bulbulia J, Fischer R. Time investments in rituals are associated with social bonding, affect and subjective health: a longitudinal study of Diwali in two Indian communities. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190430. [PMID: 32594880 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Rituals are performed within specific socio-ecological niches, yet the different effects of the same ritual form across different niches (community contexts) remains unclear. Here, using longitudinal measures over a two-week period during Diwali (the Indian festival of light), we investigate the relationship between ritual time allocation and social cohesion in two Indian communities. First, the positive effects of ritual on social bonding, perceived health and affect were highest on the focal day of the festival. Second, we observed anticipatory effects of ritualistic commitment on affect prior to the main day of the festival. Third, social bonding patterns were similar in the two Indian settings, indicating that Diwali fosters social cohesion across diverse social ecologies (cultural niches). However, individually focused emotional benefits appear to dampened in more cosmopolitan environments. Finally, time investments reveal diminishing marginal utilities for ritual activities on social cognition. Ritual time investments were linked to greater affect and family cohesion up to a certain limit. We argue that attention to the diminishing returns of ritual time investments on social cohesion across diverse human ecologies is an important horizon for future cross-cultural investigations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ritual renaissance: new insights into the most human of behaviours'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Purnima Singh
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Shruti Tewari
- Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Management, Indore, India
| | - Rebekka Kesberg
- Fakultät für Ingenieurswissenschaften, Informatik und Psychologie, Abteilung Sozialpsychologie, Universität Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Johannes Alfons Karl
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Joseph Bulbulia
- School of Humanities, Faculty of Arts, Auckland University, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Ronald Fischer
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.,Institute D'Or de Pesquisa e Ensino, Sao Paulo, Brazil
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