Ritual increases children's preferences for in-group members
Institution: | University of Texas – Austin |
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Department: | |
Year: | 2015 |
Keywords: | Social cognition; Imitation; Coalitional psychology; Ritual; Social group dynamics |
Posted: | 02/05/2017 |
Record ID: | 2135448 |
Full text PDF: | http://hdl.handle.net/2152/32412 |
This study examined the impact of ritual on children's in-group affiliation (N = 71, 4-11-year-old children). A novel social group paradigm was used in an afterschool program setting to test the influence of a ritual versus a control task on three key outcomes – affiliation with in-group members, expectations for inclusion by in-group members, and selective group fusion with in-group members. Results from converging measures support the hypothesis that the experience of participating in a ritual increases in-group preference to a greater degree than group activity alone. The results provide insight into the early-developing preference for in-group members and are consistent with the proposal that rituals facilitate in-group cohesion. Advisors/Committee Members: Legare, Cristine H. (advisor), Markman, Art B (committee member).