In a classic theory, Durkheim (1912) predicted that because of the social sharing of emotion they generate, collective gatherings bring participants to a stage of collective effervescence in which they experience a sense of union with others and a feeling of empowerment accompanied by positive affect. This would lead them to leave the collective situation with a renewed sense of confidence in life and in social institutions. A century after Durkheim's predictions of these effects, though, they remained untested as a whole. This article reports 4 studies, 2 correlational, 1 semilongitudinal, and 1 experimental, assessing the positive effects of participation in either positively valenced (folkloric marches) or negatively valenced (protest demonstrations) collective gatherings. Results confirmed that collective gatherings consistently strengthened collective identity, identity fusion, and social integration, as well as enhancing personal and collective self-esteem and efficacy, positive affect, and positive social beliefs among participants. In line with a central tenet of the theory, emotional communion, or perceived emotional synchrony with others mediated these effects. Higher perceived emotional synchrony was associated with stronger emotional reactions, stronger social support, and higher endorsement of social beliefs and values. Participation in symbolic collective gatherings also particularly reinforced identity fusion when perceived emotional synchrony was high. The respective contributions of perceived emotional synchrony and flow, or optimal experience, were also assessed. Whereas perceived emotional synchrony emerged as strongly related to the various social outcomes, flow was observed to be related first to collective efficacy and self-esteem, and thus, to encompass mainly empowerment effects.

The study set out to integrate collective action models and emphasize the role of emotions. Whereas the importance of anger is indisputable, relatively little attention has been paid to the role of positive emotions, such as hope, in collective action research. Hence, the aim of the study was to explore the role of hope and anger as drivers of participation and involvement in collective mobilizations. A cross-sectional field study (N = 638) conducted right after the emergence of the 15-M socio-political protest movement in Spain assessed the emotions and beliefs of both demonstrators and those who took no part in the active mobilization. We hypothesized that anger and hope would sequentially mediate the relationship between collective action frames and participation in collective action. Furthermore, to test this premise, we ran two alternative sequential mediation models based on the social identity model of collective action (SIMCA) and the encapsulated model of social identity in collective action (EMSICA), but with emotions as mediators between collective action frames and intensity of participation. Both models fit the data well, suggesting the importance of considering multiple causal pathways, and showing that anger and hope sequentially mediate the relation between these frames and involvement in collective action. The results support the crucial role of hope in mobilizing individuals to take part in collective action.

This cross-sectional study analyzes the relationship between collective efficacy and two psychosocial processes involved in collective sport-physical activities. It argues that in-group identification and fusion with the group will affect collective efficacy (CE). A sample of 276 university students answered different scales regarding their participation in collective physical and sport activities. Multiple-mediation analyses showed that shared flow and perceived emotional synchrony mediate the relationship between in-group identification and CE, whereas the relationship between identity fusion and CE was only mediated by perceived emotional synchrony. Results suggest that both psychosocial processes explain the positive effects of in-group identification and identity fusion with the group in collective efficacy. Specifically, the role of perceived emotional synchrony in explaining the positive effects of participation in collective sport-physical activities is underlined. In sum, this study highlights the utility of collective actions and social identities to explain the psychosocial processes related to collective efficacy in physical and sports activities. Finally, practical implications are discussed.

Over the past decade, there has been an increasing interest in the relationship between participation in collective gatherings and rituals and different important psychosocial variables and processes, such as social sharing of emotions, group cohesion, identity fusion, prosocial tendencies and behaviors, and well-being (e.g., Rimé, 2009 ; Xygalatas et al., 2013 ; Khan et al., 2015 ; Páez et al., 2015 ). These studies, coming from different lines of research, have proposed diverse explanatory mechanisms to explain the positive social and psychological effects of collective gatherings. In the present article, we focus on one of these mechanisms, known as collective effervescence, emotional communion, emotional entrainment, or perceived emotional synchrony (PES). First, we briefly discuss current conceptions of the emotional states and experience during collective gatherings and what they bring to the definition of PES. We close this point by proposing an integrative definition of PES. Second, structural validity of the original PES scale is examined. Third, incremental validity of PES is examined in two longitudinal studies, particularly with respect to well-being. Finally, we propose an integrative short form of the PES Scale, which measures antecedents and behavioral effects of collective effervescence.

Título: Flujo Compartido y Reuniones Colectivas Positivas. Resumen: Las reuniones colectivas o rituales promueven experiencias óp-timas en circunstancias socialmente aceptables. Pocos estudios han examinado empíricamente la experiencia de flujo compartido por un grupo en situaciones colectivas. El presente estudio examinó la estructura multidimensional de la experiencia de flujo compartido y su papel en la explicación de los efectos positivos de la participación en reuniones colectivas ritualizadas sobre el bienestar personal y la cohesión social. En este estudio longitudinal (N = 550) los y las participantes de un festival local celebrado en San Sebastián (Tamborrada) respondieron a cuestionarios online en tres momentos diferentes. El análisis factorial confirmatorio apoyó una estructura compuesta por nueve factores de primer orden y un factor de segundo orden en una versión de la escala de 27 ítems. Además, los análisis de modelos estructurales controlando las puntuaciones previas al evento mostraron efectos indirectos de la participación en la Tamborrada a través de flujo compartido en el bienestar, en la eficacia colectiva, en la fusión de identidad y en la integración social. Esta investigación concluye que las reuniones colectivas positivas estimulan las experiencias de flujo compartido y por lo tanto, promueven el bienestar personal y la cohesión social. Se discuten las implicaciones de estos resultados y la utilidad de la Escala de Flujo Compartido en la investigación en psicología positiva. Palabras clave: flujo compartido; reuniones colectivas; psicología positiva; bienestar; eficacia colectiva; fusión de identidad. Abstract:Collective gatherings or rituals promote optimal experiences in socially acceptable circumstances. Few studies have empirically examined the experience of flow shared by a group in collective situations. The present research examined the multi-dimensional structure of shared flow experience and its role in explaining positive effects of participation in collective ritualized gatherings on personal wellbeing and social cohesion. In this longitudinal study (N = 550) participants of a local festival celebrated in San Sebastian (Tamborrada) responded to an online questionnaire at three different times. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a structure composed of nine first-order factors and one second-order factor with a 27-item version of the scale. Further, structural equation modeling analyses controlling for the pre-event scores showed indirect effects of participation in Tamborrada through shared flow on happiness, collective efficacy, identity fusion, and social integration. This research concludes that positive collective gatherings stimulate shared flow experiences and thus promote personal wellbeing and social cohesion. We discuss both the implications of these results and the utility of the Shared Flow Scale in positive psychology research.