Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • About
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Social Psychology

Painful and extreme rituals enhance social cohesion and charity

by Eric W. Dolan
June 17, 2013
in Social Psychology
Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Stay on top of the latest psychology findings: Subscribe now!

Picture of Fakir Musafar in Vel Kavadi in CaliforniaHuman beings in cultures across the world engage in extreme rituals that involve self-mutilation or enduring other types of suffering. Why do these extreme rituals — in which people willingly put themselves through harm — continue to persist?

A new study published online in Psychological Science suggests that such rituals promote social cohesion and charity. Anthropologists long suspected that extreme rituals enhanced prosocial behaviors, but that hypothesis lacked direct evidence — until now.

“We offer the first natural demonstration that suffering predicts prosociality by capitalizing on intense, real-world stimuli that would be hard to manipulate in the laboratory,” Dimitris Xygalatas of Aarhus University and his colleagues wrote in the study.

For their research, Xygalatas and his colleagues examined two rituals associated with the annual Hindu festival of Thaipusam. The first ritual involved singing and collective prayer. The second ritual, called the Kavadi, was a bit more extreme. To symbolize debt bondage in the Kavadi, the performers often insert lances, hooks, skewers and other objects into their body.

The study of 86 males in Mauritius found both observers and performers of the Kavadi were more charitable than those who only participated in the collective prayers. The researchers also found that higher levels of pain were positively associated with larger donations and a more inclusive self-identity. The researchers controlled the potentially confounding factors of age, religiosity, and temple attendance.

“Empathic arousal likely has an important role, but this role is also mediated by social factors,” Xygalatas explained to PsyPost via email. “In a previous study (Konvalinka et al. 2011; Xygalatas et al. 2011), my colleagues and I found that there was synchronous arousal between performers and related spectators of a Spanish fire-walking ritual, but these responses were mediated by social proximity. In other words, the empathic responses were only triggered for those who shared the same social background.”

“Another psychological pathway in which such extreme rituals may influence prosocial behaviour is described by various attribution theories,” he added. “For example, it is well established that paying a high price to enter a group makes people value their membership more, which might cause participants in such rituals to bond with the community and behave in more prosocial ways.”

Though eurocentric Westerners might view religious festivals that involve self-harm as primitive or barbaric, such extreme rituals are by no means limited to the Eastern world.

“There are many high-ordeal rituals in Western societies, both religious and secular,” Xygalatas told PsyPost. “For example, fire-walking rituals are performed in Greece by the communities of the Anastenaria (I’ve written a book called The Burning Saints on these rituals), as well as in Spain. Fire-walking rituals are also performed in the U.S. and elsewhere by New Age groups or are organized by companies (for a steep fee) as self-empowerment or corporate team-building techniques.”

“Other such rituals are performed by Catholic flagellants in Colorado, New Mexico, and Italy, or the Spanish ’empalaos’ (the impaled), who are bound very tightly with ropes on a crucifix that they have to carry in a procession for hours,” he said. “And also of course think of the various military rituals, gang initiations, or hazing in North American colleges.”

TweetSendScanShareSendPinShareShareShareShareShare

RELATED

A surprising body part might provide key insights into schizophrenia risk
Machiavellianism

Massive psychology study reveals disturbing truths about Machiavellian leaders

July 11, 2025

For employees working under a manipulative boss, the damage is clear: lower job satisfaction and higher burnout. A study in the Journal of Organizational Behavior confirms this toxic impact, yet reveals these leaders aren't always penalized for their destructive behavior.

Read moreDetails
Psychopathic tendencies may be associated with specific hormonal patterns
Psychopathy

Psychopathic tendencies may be associated with specific hormonal patterns

July 10, 2025

What if the roots of psychopathy could be traced in our blood? New research is looking beyond psychology and into our endocrine system. A new study suggests hormones like cortisol and testosterone may hold important clues to a person's manipulative and impulsive tendencies.

Read moreDetails
Testosterone shifts political preferences in weakly affiliated Democratic men, study finds
Political Psychology

Testosterone shifts political preferences in weakly affiliated Democratic men, study finds

July 10, 2025

What if the key to swaying a swing voter lies in their biology? New research found giving testosterone to weakly affiliated Democratic men made them less loyal to their party and more open to Republicans, revealing a potential hormonal link to political persuasion.

Read moreDetails
Bullshit is deemed more credible if attributed to a scientist, compared to a spiritual guru
Social Psychology

Scientists who relocate more often start Nobel research up to two years earlier

July 8, 2025

A new study of Nobel Prize winners suggests that scientists who change locations or work in multiple places tend to begin their groundbreaking research earlier, highlighting how exposure to diverse environments may help spark innovative, high-impact ideas.

Read moreDetails
The most popular dementia videos on TikTok tend to have the lowest quality, study find
Addiction

People with short-video addiction show altered brain responses during decision-making

July 8, 2025

People who frequently use short-video apps like TikTok may show reduced loss sensitivity and impulsive decision-making, according to a new neuroimaging study that links addictive use patterns to changes in brain activity during risky choices.

Read moreDetails
People with psychopathic traits fail to learn from painful outcomes
Narcissism

National narcissism linked to emotional impairments and dehumanization, new study finds

July 7, 2025

A new study suggests that people who see their nation as uniquely important often struggle with recognizing emotions and experience more anger and contempt—factors that may help explain why they’re more likely to dehumanize both outsiders and fellow citizens.

Read moreDetails
Anxious and avoidant attachment are elevated among individuals with eating disorders
Developmental Psychology

Personality may be a key factor connecting negative parenting experiences to adult challenges

July 7, 2025

New research finds a link between how adults recall being parented and their current life difficulties. These challenges may be partly explained by personality traits, such as lower conscientiousness, that are connected to early family environments and adult well-being.

Read moreDetails
Loneliness predicts an increase in TV viewing for older women, but not for men
Sexism

New study finds link between sexism and denial of male victimhood in relationships

July 6, 2025

New research shows that many people endorse myths that minimize abuse against men in relationships. These myths are closely tied to sexist attitudes about masculinity, gender roles, and who is believed to be a “real” victim of violence.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

Go Ad-Free! Click here to subscribe to PsyPost and support independent science journalism!

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

Neuroscientists shed new light on how heroin disrupts prefrontal brain function

New research identifies four distinct health pathways linked to Alzheimer’s disease

A surprising body part might provide key insights into schizophrenia risk

Religious belief linked to lower anxiety and better sleep in Israeli Druze study

A common vegetable may counteract brain changes linked to obesity

Massive psychology study reveals disturbing truths about Machiavellian leaders

Dementia: Your lifetime risk may be far greater than previously thought

Psychopathic tendencies may be associated with specific hormonal patterns

         
       
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
[Do not sell my information]

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy