Effects of Anxiety on Spontaneous Ritualized Behavior

Lang, Martin; Krátký, Jan; Shaver, John H.; Jerotijević, Danijela; Xygalatas, Dimitris

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.05.049

Cited by 123 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Boyer and Liénard (2006) theorized that ritualized actions are an evolutionary vestige of a vigilance detection system. Consistent with this, the entropy model of uncertainty posits that anxiety motivates organisms to return to familiar low-entropy states in order to regain a sense of control (Hirsch, Mar, & Peterson, 2012;Lang et al, 2015). A second possibility is that rituals could serve as a potent form of distraction, blocking negative thoughts from entering a person's mind.…”

Section: Rituals Reduce Anxietymentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Indeed, across cultures and throughout history, rituals have often accompanied stressful transitions, such as deaths, births, weddings, and graduations, as well as stressful performance situations such as public speaking and sports (Celsi, Rose, & Leigh, 1993;Cohn, Rotella, & Lloyd, 1990;Kirschenbaum, Ordman, Tomarken, & Holtzbauer, 1982;Lobmeyer & Wasserman, 1986;Moore, 1986;Norton & Gino, 2014;Orlick, 1986;Wrisberg & Pein, 1992). For example, Lang, Krátký , Shaver, Jerotijević , and Xygalatas (2015) used motion-capture technology to quantify speakers' hand movements when asked to speak in public, finding that feelings of anxiety increased the repetitiveness and rigidity of hand movements -which are considered signs of ritualistic behavior. Indeed, some scholars have even suggested that rituals develop from the experience of anxiety or uncertainty (Felson & Gmelch, 1979;Lang et al, 2015;Singer & Benassi, 1981;Vyse, 1997).…”

Section: Rituals Anxiety and Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Lang, Krátký , Shaver, Jerotijević , and Xygalatas (2015) used motion-capture technology to quantify speakers' hand movements when asked to speak in public, finding that feelings of anxiety increased the repetitiveness and rigidity of hand movements -which are considered signs of ritualistic behavior. Indeed, some scholars have even suggested that rituals develop from the experience of anxiety or uncertainty (Felson & Gmelch, 1979;Lang et al, 2015;Singer & Benassi, 1981;Vyse, 1997).…”

Section: Rituals Anxiety and Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

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RETRACTED: Don’t stop believing: Rituals improve performance by decreasing anxiety

Brooks

Schroeder

Risen

et al. 2016

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

122

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a b s t r a c tFrom public speaking to first dates, people frequently experience performance anxiety. And when experienced immediately before or during performance, anxiety harms performance. Across a series of experiments, we explore the efficacy of a common strategy that people employ to cope with performance-induced anxiety: rituals. We define a ritual as a predefined sequence of symbolic actions often characterized by formality and repetition that lacks direct instrumental purpose. Using different instantiations of rituals and measures of anxiety (both physiological and self-report), we find that enacting rituals improves performance in public and private performance domains by decreasing anxiety. Belief that a specific series of behaviors constitute a ritual is a critical ingredient to reduce anxiety and improve performance: engaging in behaviors described as a ''ritual" improved performance more than engaging in the same behaviors described as ''random behaviors."

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Section: Rituals Reduce Anxietymentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Rituals Anxiety and Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rituals Anxiety and Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

RETRACTED: Don’t stop believing: Rituals improve performance by decreasing anxiety

Brooks

Schroeder

Risen

et al. 2016

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

122

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Ritualized behaviors seem particularly likely to emerge under circumstances characterized by negative emotions such as high anxiety, uncertainty, and stress (Celsi, Rose, & Leigh, 1993;Keinan, 1994;Lang, Krátký, Shaver, Jerotijević, & Xygalatas, 2015;Padgett & Jorgenson, 1982). Perhaps the earliest description of the link between anxious uncertainty and rituals is Bronislaw Malinowski's (1954) observation of fishing behaviors among the Trobriand Islanders in Melanesia in the early 1900s.…”

Section: Emotion Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The psychology of rituals: An integrative review and process-based framework

Hobson¹,

Schroeder²,

Risen³

et al. 2017

Preprint

Self Cite

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Traditionally, ritual has been studied from broad sociocultural perspectives, with little consideration of the psychological processes at play. Recently, however, psychologists have begun turning their attention to the study of ritual, uncovering the causal mechanisms driving this universal aspect of human behavior. With growing interest in the psychology of ritual, the current paper provides an organizing framework to understand recent empirical work from social psychology, cognitive science, anthropology, behavioral economics, and neuroscience. Our framework focuses on three primary regulatory functions of rituals: regulation of (1) emotions, (2) performance goal states, and (3) social connection. We examine the possible mechanisms underlying each function by considering the bottom-up processes that emerge from the physical features of rituals and top-down processes that emerge from the psychological meaning of rituals. Our framework, by appreciating the value of psychological theory, generates novel predictions and enriches our understanding of ritual and human behavior more broadly.

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“…Ritualized behaviors seem particularly likely to emerge under circumstances characterized by negative emotions such as high anxiety, uncertainty, and stress (Celsi, 1993;Keinan, 1994;Lang et al, 2015;Padgett & Jorgenson, 1982). Perhaps the earliest description of the link between anxious uncertainty and rituals is Bronislaw Malinowski's (1954) observation of fishing behaviors among the Trobriand Islanders in Melanesia in the early 1900s.…”

Section: Emotion Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%