Emotional contagion in a collective ritual

Area of Science:

• Social psychology
• Neuroscience
• Anthropology

Background:

• Collective gatherings often show synchronized psychophysiological states.
• Emotional contagion is well-studied in pairs and populations, but real-time dynamics in naturalistic groups are less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate real-time emotional contagion in a public religious ritual.
• To examine the relationship between interpersonal distance and autonomic arousal during collective events.

Main Methods:

• A naturalistic design was employed.
• Interpersonal distance and autonomic arousal were measured during a Hindu procession and an unstructured walk.

Main Results:

• Proximity in space was associated with heightened affective synchrony.
• This effect was more pronounced during the emotionally laden ritual compared to the unstructured walk.

Conclusions:

• Spatial proximity plays a role in affective synchrony during collective rituals.
• Cultural practices significantly shape collective emotional experiences and their psychophysiological underpinnings.