Excitation transfer and religious rituals : influencing other people’s attitudes by using behavioral means

KUNDT, Radek. Excitation transfer and religious rituals : influencing other people’s attitudes by using behavioral means. In Explaining religion : method, theory and experiment. 2012.

Basic information

• Original name: Excitation transfer and religious rituals : influencing other people’s attitudes by using behavioral means
• Authors: KUNDT, Radek (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Explaining religion : method, theory and experiment, 2012.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 60300 6.3 Philosophy, Ethics and Religion
• Country of publisher: Greece
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14210/12:00062060
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Keywords in English: excitation transfer; religious ritual; prosociality; laboratory behavioral experiment
• Tags: rivok
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

Arousal can be used to alter (mainly amplify) various things. It has been shown on individual level that arousal produces residual excitement that servers to intensify later emotional states like aggression (Zillman, 1971), sexual attraction (Dutton & Aron, 1974) or sense of humour (Cantor et al, 1974). My interest is if I can use physiological arousal to amplify even more complex things and on a group level. For example pro-social behaviour or anti-social behaviour. In this paper I outline the background of my research. Among the assumptions determining possible results are: favoring explanatory theories, favoring multidisciplinary approach, favoring evolutionary perspective, favoring naturalistic frameworks of the study of religion in general and favoring experimental paradigm. I argue that it is possible and useful to use quantification even in the study of cultural phenomena such as religious ritualized collective action. To illustrate the argument, I will use as an example my own laboratory research on the influence of autonomic arousal on pro-social behavior which main hypothesis might be phrased as follows. Increase in physiological arousal (given the right conditions for excitation transfer to occur) will result in either increase or decrease of prosocial behavior (given the right prime).

Links

• EE2.3.20.0048, research and development project: Name: Laboratoř pro experimentální výzkum náboženství