Memorable Religions: Transmission, Codification and Change in Divergent Melanesian Contexts

Whitehouse, Harvey

doi:10.2307/2804174

Cited by 105 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Confĳidence, too, signifĳicantly increased. These fĳindings do not support the hypothesis that participation in high arousal rituals will necessarily result in detailed and vivid flashbulb memories (Whitehouse, 1992(Whitehouse, , 2004. However, certain predictions of the flashbulb hypothesis do fĳind support: The fĳire-walk was recollected in emotional terms; structured memories eventually did form; confĳidence eventually increased.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 42%

“…The question of how highly arousing rituals afffect memory, however, has not been assessed quantitatively. Cognitive theories of ritual have stressed the role of memory in the transmission of ritual traditions (Whitehouse, 1992;McCauley and Lawson, 2002), particularly focusing on the role of flashbulb memories. In particular, Harvey Whitehouse (2004: 71) has argued that "rarely performed and highly arousing rituals invariably trigger vivid and enduring episodic memories .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Autobiographical Memory in a Fire-Walking Ritual

Xygalatas¹,

Schjoedt²,

Bulbulia³

et al. 2013

Journal of Cognition and Culture

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Anthropological theories have discussed the efffects of participation in high-arousal rituals in the formation of autobiographical memory; however, precise measurements for such efffects are lacking. In this study, we examined episodic recall among participants in a highly arousing firewalking ritual. To assess arousal, we used heart rate measurements. To assess the dynamics of episodic memories, we obtained reports immediately after the event and two months later. We evaluated memory accuracy from video footage. Immediately after the event, participants' reports revealed limited recall, low confĳidence and high accuracy. Two months later we found more inaccurate memories and higher confĳidence. Whereas cognitive theories of ritual have predicted flashbulb memories for highly arousing rituals, we found that memories were strongly suppressed immediately after the event and only later evolved confĳidence and detail. Physiological measurements revealed a spectacular discrepancy between actual heart rates and self-reported arousal. This dissociation between subjective reports and objective measurements of arousal is consistent with a cognitive resource depletion model. We argue that expressive suppression may provide a link between individual memories and cultural understandings of high-arousal rituals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 42%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autobiographical Memory in a Fire-Walking Ritual

Xygalatas¹,

Schjoedt²,

Bulbulia³

et al. 2013

Journal of Cognition and Culture

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“…Some of the field's most important theoretical foundations were laid in the 1990s, with the work of Pascal Boyer (1992) on counterintuitive concepts, that of Harvey Whitehouse (1992), Thomas E. Lawson and Robert McCauley (1990) on ritual transmission, and others (e.g., Deacon 1997;Donald 1991;Mithen 1996). CSR expanded exponentially shortly after the dawn of the new millennium, which brought both theoretical sophistication (Boyer 2002;McCauley and Lawson 2002;Whitehouse 2004) and institutional grounding (Xygalatas and McKay 2013) …”

Section: The Development Of Csrmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pascal Boyer (1992) has argued that the most successful religious concepts are those that tend to be "minimally counterintuitive," violating just enough of our intuitive expectations to be exciting and more easily remembered. Finally, other scholars discussed the role of ritual by identifying a bimodal distribution of ritual practices, one relying on frequency and the other on arousal for the successful transmission of belief and praxis (Whitehouse 1992;Lawson and McCauley 1990). Fig.…”

Section: Key Topicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive Science of Religion

Xygalatas

2014

Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion

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The Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) is an academic subdiscipline that studies the mental capacities and processes that underlie recurrent patterns of religious thought and behavior. The main focus of CSR is on unconscious processes such as thoughts, biases, emotions, and motivations. Unlike the related field of the Psychology of Religion, whose primary level of analysis is the individual, CSR is primarily interested in accounting for cultural forms and explaining why these particular forms are more widespread than others. Like Cognitive Science in general, CSR is interdisciplinary, employing theoretical perspectives and methodological tools from such diverse fields as religious studies; cultural, cognitive, and evolutionary anthropology; cognitive, developmental, and evolutionary psychology; philosophy; neuroscience; biology; behavioral ecology; history; and archaeology.Given the interdisciplinary and pluralistic character of the field, there are ongoing debates over methodological priorities and theoretical positions. However, CSR scholars by and large agree on a set of basic overarching assumptions. First of all, religion is not a sui generis domain of the human existence and therefore can and should be subject to explanatory scrutiny just like any other cultural expression. Second, a scientific study of religion must necessarily adopt a position of methodological naturalism; religious explanations of religious phenomena cannot be taken to have any explanatory value in themselves. In line with evolutionary psychology, it is accepted that cultural forms are subject to the biological constraints of the human brain and the universal mental capacities of the human species, as they have evolved through natural selection. In line with Cognitive Science, it is also accepted that the mind is not a blank slate nor a general-purpose computational machine but comes pre-equipped with a host of specialized mechanisms, each with a specific function. Based on these premises, cognitive scientists of religion are interested in exploring the causal mechanisms that might account for the recurrent patterns of religious beliefs and practices found around the world. The Development of CSRAlthough the mental underpinnings of religion had often been the focus of earlier research in the psychology, sociology, and anthropology of religion, a more concerted cognitive study of cultural forms was inspired by the cognitive revolution of the 1950s and especially by the work of Noam Chomsky (1957) on language. Chomsky

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“…Others have written on the way ritual interacts with memory. Atkinson and Whitehouse (2011);Whitehouse (1992) argues that doctrinal rituals (which most closely match the manipulations herein presented) allow for the creation of semantic memory associated with group-defining beliefs and practices, while Schjødt and Sørensen (2013) argue that such ritual deplete cognitive resources, making memory for specific events more difficult. This could be addressed with a series of studies examining the fidelity of ritual performance in transmission chains.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ritual cognition: ritualized action and artefact

Kapitány¹

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The following dissertation is an in-depth examination of the cognition and behaviour associated with ritualized action. Within the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) framework considerable resources have been devoted to understanding how rituals influence the way groups form, and how they influence the behaviour of individuals with respect to in-and out-group members (though other dimensions of ritual-related topics are discussed hereafter). However, as evinced by the publication record, very little effort has been devoted to understanding how we cognitively and behaviourally respond when rituals are directed towards objects and artefacts.That this question has been overlooked is not a trivial academic matter. Rituals are ubiquitous across cultures, and while the vast majority of rituals are performed for the benefit of an individual or a group, a vast subset therein are performed toward objects, and thereby influence the way in which we interact with them. Wedding bands, birthday cakes, flags, holy water, and entire buildings (to name but a few) are all made unique via ritual action. What is it about such actions that bestow upon objects their status? Why and how does this come about? And can it be explained through wholly ordinary cognitive mechanisms?In my introduction I outline the most relevant theories, which both inform and challenge our nascent understanding of object-directed rituals. I make suggestions as to which theories have the most promise in examining these questions. Further, I attempt to provide a theoretical and operational definition which is not merely a descriptive constellation of general features, but a definition which proposes a causal pathway of action. In so doing, I elevate the role of 'causal opacity' and 'goal demotion' to greater prominence (above featural qualities like repetition, redundancy, formality, and stereotypy). The following chapters sequentially present evidence for this definition, as well as exploring other important cognitive aspects associated with ritual cognition. RITUAL COGNITION 3In chapter two I establish a robust protocol for examining the manner in which ritualized actions influence our cognitions. I challenge the methods and conclusions of prior work that has examined the role objects and artefacts play in ritual sequences. I examine predications made by the 'ritual stance', a theoretical framework for explaining ritual cognition, and find support for a nuanced picture of ritual cognition when ritualized actions are directed toward objects.In chapter three I extend the findings of chapter two, and more clearly demarcate the unique role of goal demotion. I find support for the claim that causal opacity and goal demotion are separable, and account for different kinds of responses among participants.Further, I examine the ways our memory (and by extension, our perception) is influenced by ritualized action.In chapter four I examine all previous findings in more ecologically valid settings. I examine the behaviour of children (in two distinct and ortho...

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Memorable Religions: Transmission, Codification and Change in Divergent Melanesian Contexts

Cited by 105 publications

References 15 publications

Autobiographical Memory in a Fire-Walking Ritual

Autobiographical Memory in a Fire-Walking Ritual

Cognitive Science of Religion

Ritual cognition: ritualized action and artefact

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