Work

Positive experiences of high arousal martial arts rituals are linked to identity fusion and costly pro‐group actions

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 605 practitioners of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) to test the hypothesis that high arousal rituals promote social cohesion, primarily through identity fusion. BJJ promotion rituals are rare, highly emotional ritual events that often feature gruelling belt-whipping gauntlets. We used the variation in such experiences to examine whether more gruelling rituals were associated with identity fusion and pro-group behaviour. We found no differences between those who had undergone belt-whipping and those who had not and no evidence of a correlation between pain and social cohesion. However, across the full sample we found that positive, but not negative, affective experiences of promotional rituals were associated with identity fusion and that this mediated pro-group action. These findings provide new evidence concerning the social functions of collective rituals and highlight the importance of addressing the potentially diverging subjective experiences of painful rituals.

Source: European Journal of Social Psychology

DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.2514

Authors: Christopher M. Kavanagh, Jonathan Jong, Ryan McKay, Harvey Whitehouse

Institutions: University of Oxford, Coventry University, Royal Holloway University of London

Language: English

Topic: Social and Intergroup Psychology

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,980

Funders: John Templeton Foundation, HORIZON EUROPE Excellent Science, H2020 European Research Council