Emotional synchrony predicts social cohesion effects following costly rituals

This manuscript explores two explanatory models of participation in university hazing, a typical example of costly ritual: the Shared Pathway Model and the Emotional Synchronization Model. Two correlational (N = 85 and 76) and one longitudinal study (N = 120 + 258) based on self-reported measures were conducted in highly ecological contexts to assess the predictive value of the two explanatory models on social cohesion (i.e., social identification and identity fusion) and well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, self-esteem and loneliness). Across studies, emotional synchronization consistently predicted social cohesion and well-being, both immediately and up to 4 months post-ritual. In contrast, the Shared Pathway Model showed only weak associations with short-term social identification and failed to explain long-term effects. A meta-analysis confirmed these results. These findings offer novel empirical support for the role of emotional synchronization in explaining the enduring psychosocial effects of costly rituals. We discuss implications for ritual theory and suggest future research on why some rituals foster strong social bonds while others lead to exclusion or fail to generate cohesion.