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From Collective Ritual to Secular Gathering: Collective Effervescence and its Psychosocial Effects from a Psychological Perspective
Xue Qiu, Guan Jian
Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (2) : 426-436.
PDF(945 KB)
PDF(945 KB)
From Collective Ritual to Secular Gathering: Collective Effervescence and its Psychosocial Effects from a Psychological Perspective
Collective effervescence originally originated from collective religious rituals. Durkheim coined the term to describe the emotional effects generated by collective rituals. Collective effervescence is now regarded as a "solidarity adhesive" commonly found in secular gatherings, and it is a cross-cultural social phenomenon. From the perspective of historical changes, religious collective rituals were mainly prevalent in traditional societies, while secular gatherings are mainly popular in the current modern society. Therefore, collective effervescence worldwide has also undergone a transformation from religious rituals to secular gatherings: collective effervescence in secular gatherings is more common, while that in religious rituals is gradually declining. Exploring the theoretical mechanisms of collective effervescence and its psychosocial effects is not only conducive to understanding the development and progress of human civilization, but also an important topic for the innovative transformation of traditional culture to maintain individual mental health. This article first differentiates collective effervescence from the perspectives of sociology and psychology. Then, combining with relevant theories, it focuses on analyzing the psychosocial effects of collective effervescence from a psychological perspective and its explanatory mechanisms. Finally, it expounds on the future research directions.
From a psychological perspective, collective effervescence in secular gatherings is different from that in religious collective rituals. To some extent, the connotation, generating conditions, and research methods of collective effervescence in secular gatherings have changed. From the early collective rituals to the current secular gatherings, the connotation of collective effervescence has undergone two changes in meaning. The first is the process of desacralization (i.e., secularization), and the second is the process of deritualization. From the perspectives of cognition, emotion, and behavior, shared attention, shared emotions, and coordinated actions are the basis for activating collective effervescence. Early scholars explored collective effervescence using more traditional sociological research methods, while current psychological research mostly uses time-series designs to explore the persistent impact of the positive effects of collective effervescence over time.
A large number of current psychological verification studies have shown that collective effervescence can trigger a series of psychosocial effects. For example, collective effervescence can enhance collective identity, social cohesion, positive emotions, and well-being. Based on Durkheim's theory of collective effervescence, researchers have developed new theories to explain and study the psychosocial effects of collective effervescence. Collective effervescence can play a role in protecting the mental health of individuals and groups in aspects, such as enhancing cohesion and promoting mental well-being.
In addition, the psychosocial effects of collective effervescence are not limited to short-term impacts, and it has a cross-temporal persistence. Even after the effect of inducing collective effervescence on participants in an experimental situation ends, they still benefit from the collective effervescence effect. The positive impact of collective effervescence can last for at least 1 to 4 weeks, and in some cases, it can last up to 10 weeks or even 8 months. The persistence of the collective effervescence effect is the key to maintaining positive psychosocial effects.
Future research needs to explore the negative impacts of collective effervescence. While collective effervescence is an essential bond for maintaining morality and order, it can also trigger large-scale group incidents. Given the complexity of collective effervescence, in future research, scholars can pay more attention to its negative impacts. In addition, online collective effervescence may have a dual impact. We need to give full play to its cohesive function while preventing the possible chaos in the order of the online society. The form of participation in collective effervescence has changed from offline to online. What are the similarities and differences in the nature and impacts between these two forms? Future research needs to further reveal the positive and negative impacts of online collective effervescence and its mechanisms from a social psychological perspective, and compare the differences between offline and online collective effervescence. Future research also needs to further examine the explanatory mechanisms underlying the persistent impact of the collective effervescence effect. The psychosocial effects of collective effervescence may have a persistent impact through the mechanism of collective memory in the temporal dimension.
collective effervescence / collective gathering / group cohesion / mental health
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世俗中的社会生活同步动作是一种跨文化的普遍现象, 与集体仪式同步动作具有同等的亲社会功能。在建立社会联结、增进心理健康方面, 社会生活同步动作能够在一定程度上替代集体仪式发挥对个体和群体的心理保护作用。从动作的相位、意识水平、协调方式等角度, 可以将社会生活同步动作划分为五种类型, 并且不同类型的动作与社会性响应因素、心理健康的关系及其心理与生理机制存在异同。未来需进一步揭示社会生活同步对集体仪式同步的替代性与补偿性, 考察动作的意识水平、相位等因素对同步效应的影响, 着力关注不同类型的同步动作的功能和发生机制。
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The present study addresses, in a highly ecological setting, the short- and long-term psychosocial consequences of participation in a major scouting event. Using a quasi-longitudinal design comprising three measures taken over two-and-a-half months (i.e., baseline level; within the 24 hr following the event; 10 weeks after the gathering), we show that participation in this collective gathering was followed by a series of positive effects at the psychosocial level. More precisely, we noticed an increase in the scout's levels of social integration, and individual and social well-being after their participation in the gathering. Further, in line with a central tenet of the neo-Durkheimian model of collective processes, the results stress the key role of perceived emotional synchrony in the prediction of the outcomes. Higher perceived emotional synchrony during the gathering was associated with stronger in-group identification, identity fusion, pride, openness to experience, self-esteem, positive affects, and adhesion to specific scouting values. Finally, we found that the effects of participation lasted more than a few days and were predicted by the level of perceived emotional synchrony. These findings are the first to show that positive effects of participation in a collective event last for at least ten weeks.
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This paper analyzes the socio-cognitive and emotional processes related to collective action in the context of the 2019 populist social movement in Chile. It proposes an integrative explanation of populism as social movements and collective gatherings along with their relation with creativity and social representations of mass movements. A comprehensive online survey was used (n = 262) that included measures of participation in demonstrations, identification with protesters or the government, agreement with social movement grievances, collective efficacy, perceived emotional synchrony, collective action, self-reported cognitive creativity, and individuals’ proposals for improvement of society and ideas associated with stimuli (e.g., the concepts of majority or minority). Our results revealed that identification with demonstrators, agreement with protesters’ grievances, a high perceived emotional synchrony or collective effervescence, and higher creativity responses were associated with an active participation in the social movement. Higher participation and factors conducive to participation were associated with lexical clusters of responses to stimuli that include words such as rights, justice, injustice, bravery, dignity, or hope, which were conceived of as positive social representations of the populist social movement. These findings are discussed within the neo-Durkheimian framework of collective gatherings and the perspective of populism as a social movement that seeks to renew and expand democracy.
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Although previous research suggests that connection to large, mostly anonymous groups is important for the fulfillment of psychological needs and a sense of psychological well-being, no measure exists to assess individual differences in this area. In 5 studies, we developed and provided support for the validity of the Tendency for Effervescent Assembly Measure (TEAM). Utilizing data from student and community samples, we conducted exploratory factor analyses to guide item selection for the scale (Study 1), evaluated the structure of the scale in an independent sample (Study 2), examined the convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity of the scale (Study 3), and assessed measurement invariance of the scale across different demographic groups (Study 4). Study 5 explored the role of social needs fulfillment in effervescent assembly, as well as examined the relationship of the scale with recent collective effervescence experiences. Results revealed that our final 11-item scale was unidimensional, with excellent internal consistency and good test-retest reliability over 2 months. Measurement invariance was established across gender, ethnicity, and religion, providing support for the validity of the measure across demographic subgroups. Importantly, the TEAM predicted decreased loneliness, increased positive feelings, a sense of meaning in one's life, self-awareness, and spiritual transcendence, above and beyond the effects of the big 5 factors of personality and collective and relational interdependence. Furthermore, results suggested that positive outcomes associated with the TEAM are because of social need fulfillment. (PsycINFO Database Record(c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for one’s past, is associated with, or confers, psychological wellbeing (PWB). We identified a mechanism for this link: collective effervescence, a potent sense of connection to those present in an assembly and a sensation of transcendence (i.e., feeling that an experience is special or sacred). In six studies, involving measurement-of-mediation and experimental-causal-chain designs, nostalgia was associated with, and led to, higher PWB via collective effervescence. In Study 1, nostalgia was related to PWB through collective effervescence at the dispositional level. In Study 2, induced collective effervescence increased PWB. In Studies 3a–3c, induced nostalgia led to greater PWB due to collective effervescence. In Study 4, induced nostalgia increased PWB due to collective effervescence even when controlling for authenticity, an alternate mediator.
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In this article, we review the conceptions of Collective Effervescence (CE) –a state of intense shared emotional activation and sense of unison that emerges during instances of collective behavior, like demonstrations, rituals, ceremonies, celebrations, and others– and empirical approaches oriented at measuring it. The first section starts examining Émile Durkheim's classical conception on CE, and then, the integrative one proposed by the sociologist Randall Collins, leading to a multi-faceted experience of synchronization. Then, we analyze the construct as a process emerging in collective encounters when individuals contact with social ideal and values, referring to the classical work of Serge Moscovici as well as those more recent empirical approaches. Third, we consider CE as a set of intense positive emotions linked to processes of group identification, as proposed by authors of the Social Identity Theory tradition. Finally, we describe CE from the perspective of self-transcendence (e.g., emotions, experiences), and propose a unified description of this construct. The second section shows the results of a meta-analytical integration (k= 50,N= 182,738) aimed at analyzing CE's proximal effects or construct validity (i.e., Individual Emotions and Communal Sharing) as well as its association with more distal variables, such as Collective Emotions, Social Integration, Social Values and Beliefs and Empowerment. Results indicate that CE strongly associates with Individual Emotions –in particular, Self-Transcendent Emotions– and Communal Sharing constructs (e.g., Group Identity, Fusion of Identity), providing construct validity. Among the distal effects of CE, it is associated with Collective Positive Emotions, long-term Social Integration (e.g., Ingroup Commitment), Social Values and Beliefs and Empowerment-related variables (e.g., Wellbeing, Collective Efficacy, Collective Self-Esteem). Among the moderation analyses carried out (e.g., study design, CE scale, type of collective gathering), the effects of CE in demonstrations are noticeable, where this variable is a factor that favors other variables that make collective action possible, such as Group Identity (rpooled= 0.52), Collective Efficacy (rpooled= 0.37), Negative and Self-Transcendent Emotions (rpooled= 0.14 and 0.58), and Morality-related beliefs (rpooled= 0.43).
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. The capacity to establish interpersonal synchrony is fundamental to human beings because it constitutes the basis for social connection and understanding. Interpersonal synchrony refers to instances when the movements or sensations of two or more people overlap in time and form. Recently, the causal influence of interpersonal synchrony on prosociality has been established through experiments. The current meta-analysis is the first to synthesize these isolated and sometimes contradictory experiments. We meta-analyzed 60 published and unpublished experiments that compared an interpersonal synchrony condition with at least one control condition. The results reveal a medium effect of interpersonal synchrony on prosociality with regard to both attitudes and behaviors. Furthermore, experimenter effects and intentionality moderate these effects. We discuss the strengths and limitations of our analysis, as well as its practical implications, and we suggest avenues for future research.
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Emotional experiences trigger the social sharing of emotion. This disclosure of emotional facts and feelings to the social surrounding was generally considered as a simple process of emotional release. The empirical data reviewed in this article invalidate this simplistic view. They show that the social sharing of emotions is a complex process that results not only in intrapersonal effects for the source person, but also in important interpersonal and social outcomes. The intrapersonal effects of the social sharing of emotions are varied, they do not necessarily go together, and they respond to specific conditions. At the interpersonal level, both the sharing of positive and negative emotional episodes affects relationships with the audience. Finally, the research highlights broader social effects relating to social structure, social norms, group action, beliefs, collective resilience, and intergroup relations.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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For Durkheim, individuals’ survival and well-being rest on cultural resources and social belonging that must be revived periodically in collective assemblies. Durkheim’s concern was to clarify how these assemblies achieve this revitalization. An intensive examination of primitive religions led him to identify successive levels of engagement experienced by participants and to develop explanatory principles relevant to all types of collective gatherings. Durkheim’s conception is widely referred to nowadays. However, the question of its empirical status remains open. We extracted from his text his main statements and translated them into research questions. We then examined each question in relation to current theories and findings. In particular, we relied on the plethora of recent cognitive and social-psychology studies that document conditions of reduced self-other differentiation. Abundant data support that each successive moment of collective assemblies contributes to blurring this differentiation. Ample support also exists that because shared emotions are increasingly amplified in collective context, they can fuel high-intensity experiences. Moreover, recent studies of self-transcendent emotions can account for the self-transformative effects described by Durkheim at the climax of collective assemblies. In conclusion, this century-old model is remarkably supported by recent results, mostly collected in experimental settings.
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In this article we review the emerging literature on the self-transcendent emotions. We discuss how the self-transcendent emotions differ from other positive emotions and outline the defining features of this category. We then provide an analysis of three specific self-transcendent emotions—compassion, gratitude, and awe—detailing what has been learned about their expressive behavior, physiology, and likely evolutionary origins. We propose that these emotions emerged to help humans solve unique problems related to caretaking, cooperation, and group coordination in social interactions. In our final section we offer predictions about the self-transcendent emotions that can guide future research.
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Identity fusion is a relatively unexplored form of alignment with groups that entails a visceral feeling of oneness with the group. This feeling is associated with unusually porous, highly permeable borders between the personal and social self. These porous borders encourage people to channel their personal agency into group behavior, raising the possibility that the personal and social self will combine synergistically to motivate pro-group behavior. Furthermore, the strong personal as well as social identities possessed by highly fused persons cause them to recognize other group members not merely as members of the group but also as unique individuals, prompting the development of strong relational as well as collective ties within the group. In local fusion, people develop relational ties to members of relatively small groups (e.g., families or work teams) with whom they have personal relationships. In extended fusion, people project relational ties onto relatively large collectives composed of many individuals with whom they may have no personal relationships. The research literature indicates that measures of fusion are exceptionally strong predictors of extreme pro-group behavior. Moreover, fusion effects are amplified by augmenting individual agency, either directly (by increasing physiological arousal) or indirectly (by activating personal or social identities). The effects of fusion on pro-group actions are mediated by perceptions of arousal and invulnerability. Possible causes of identity fusion--ranging from relatively distal, evolutionary, and cultural influences to more proximal, contextual influences--are discussed. Finally, implications and future directions are considered.Copyright 2012 APA, all rights reserved.
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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.Copyright © 2020 Wlodarczyk, Zumeta, Pizarro, Bouchat, Hatibovic, Basabe and Rimé.
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Yang and Land (2006) and Yang (forthcoming-b) developed a mixed (fixed and random) effects model for the age–period–cohort (APC) analysis of micro data sets in the form of a series of repeated cross-section sample surveys that are increasingly available to demographers. The authors compare the fixedversus random-effects model specifications for APC analysis. They use data on verbal test scores from 15 cross sections of the General Social Survey (GSS), 1974 to 2000, for substantive illustrations. Strengths and weaknesses are identified for both the random- and fixed-effects formulations. However, under each of the two data conditions studied, the random-effects hierarchical APC model is the most appropriate specification. While additional analyses and comparisons of random- and fixed-effects APC models using other data sets are necessary before generalizations can be drawn, this finding is consistent with results from other methodological studies with unbalanced data designs.
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The neo-Durkheimnian model suggests that feedback and emotional communion between participants during a collective gathering (i.e., perceived emotional synchrony: PES) is one of the key mechanisms of collective processes. This shared emotional experience gives rise, in turn, to more intense emotions, this being one of the explanatory models of the positive psychological effects of collective participation. Through a quasi-longitudinal design of three measurement-times (N = 273, 65.9% women; age: 18–70, M = 39.43, SD = 11.64), the most massive social mobilization that is celebrated in favor of the Basque language in the Basque Country (Korrika) was analyzed. Repeated measures and sequential mediation analyzes supported the model. The effect of participation on social integration was mediated by the increase in emotions of enjoyment through PES; the effect on social acceptance, social contribution, and social actualization was mediated by increased kama muta through PES; the effect on collective empowerment was mediated by the increase in self-transcendent emotions through PES; and the effect on remembered well-being was partially mediated by PES. Finally, it was also verified for the first time that the effect of participation on social integration, social acceptance and social actualization was maintained through PES (but not through emotions) for at least 6–7 weeks after the event ended. Also, it is concluded that Kama muta is a relevant emotion during collective gatherings.
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Identity fusion is a visceral feeling of oneness with a group, known to strongly motivate extreme pro-group behaviour. However, the evidence on its causes is currently limited, primarily due to the prevalence of cross-sectional research. To address this gap, this study analysed the evolution of fusion in response to a massive collective ritual, Korrika-a race in support of the Basque language-, over three time periods: before (n = 748) and immediately following participation (n = 402), and 7 weeks thereafter (n = 273). Furthermore, we explored the potential mediating roles of two key factors: perceived emotional synchrony, a sense of emotional unity among participants that emerges during collective rituals, and kama muta (moved by love), an unexplored emotion in relation to fusion, which arises from feelings of shared essence. The proportion of fused participants increased significantly after participation and remained stable for at least 7 weeks. Perceived emotional synchrony and kama muta apparently explained the effect of participants' behavioural involvement in the ritual on subsequent fusion, but only among those who were not previously fused with Korrika participants. We conclude that emotional processes during collective rituals play a fundamental role in the construction of identity fusion.© 2024 The Authors. British Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.
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