Cognitive computations underlying ritual performance and persistence.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Anthropology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Rituals are universal across human cultures, yet their persistence is debated.
• Existing theories focus on either affecting uncertain outcomes or promoting social cohesion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review cognitive processes underlying ritual persistence.
• To integrate diverse theoretical perspectives on rituals.
• To propose a novel framework for understanding ritual function.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on ritual behavior and cognitive science.
• Application of reinforcement learning principles (model-free and model-based learning).
• Synthesis of affective, social, and pragmatic reward mechanisms.

Main Results:

• Ritual participation is driven by two key reinforcement learning processes.
• Model-free learning captures habitual reinforcement of affective/social rewards.
• Model-based learning explains reinforcement from pragmatic/cooperative benefits.

Conclusions:

• A unified cognitive framework explains ritual persistence.
• Rituals sustain intersubjectively aligned world models.
• This framework illuminates ritual's role in past and present societies.