Collective Rituals as a tool of social regulation

The project focuses on the research of collective rituals – especially their socio-regulatory function, from the perspective of cognitive anthropology. The central ambition of the project is to examine two very closely related thematic levels of this problem. First of all, the impact of rituals on the community where it is practiced – on the intragroup cohesion and the prosocial and cooperative behavior of people. On the other hand, the individual motivation to participate in rituals – whether participation in rituals as a declaration of group devotion and acceptance of social norms or as a means of acquiring, or of maintaining social status. The effect of stable collective action as a means of dealing with negative emotions and feelings of uncertainty can also contribute to individual motivations. The project is build upon a combination and integration of qualitative ethnographic a quantitative experimental research methods.