Prosocial correlates of transformative experiences at secular multi-day mass gatherings

Abstract

Humans have long sought experiences that transcend or change their sense of self. By weakening boundaries between the self and others, such transformative experiences may lead to enduring changes in moral orientation. Here we investigated the psychological nature and prosocial correlates of transformative experiences by studying participants before (n = 600), during (n = 1217), 0–4 weeks after (n = 1866), and 6 months after (n = 710) they attended a variety of secular, multi-day mass gatherings in the US and UK. Observations at 6 field studies and 22 online followup studies spanning 5 years showed that self-reported transformative experiences at mass gatherings were common, increased over time, and were characterized by feelings of universal connectedness and new perceptions of others. Participants’ circle of moral regard expanded with every passing day onsite—an effect partially mediated by transformative experience and feelings of universal connectedness. Generosity was remarkably high across sites but did not change over time. Immediately and 6 months following event attendance, self-reported transformative experience persisted and predicted both generosity (directly) and moral expansion (indirectly). These findings highlight the prosocial qualities of transformative experiences at secular mass gatherings and suggest such experiences may be associated with lasting changes in moral orientation.

Why We Gather: A New Look, Empirically Documented, at Émile Durkheim’s Theory of Collective Assemblies and Collective Effervescence

“…Durkheim's (1912Durkheim's ( /1915 view that involvement in a collective assembly culminates in an experience of personal transformation was directly supported by a largescale longitudinal study of participants at immersive secular mass gatherings lasting 3 or more days. Yudkin et al (2022) assessed the degree to which participants in these gatherings had had an experience they considered transformative ("Have you had a transformative experience at [field site]?"). Self-reported transformative experience increased over time at mass gatherings and persisted at least 6 months after attendance.…”

Customer-to-customer interactions in the sport fan context: typology, framework (C2CIF) and directions for future research

“…Finally, studies should also examine ways to improve adversarial relationships between fans in the long run. Research like the ambitious real-world intervention study by Mousa (2020) and the longitudinal field study of Yudkin et al (2022) could inspire future work to illuminate how fan-to-fan interactions can be improved or even be harnessed to benefit society. For example, a fan group's engagement in physical activity or voluntary work (often related to the fan context) with other fan groups may have positive socio-psychological effects.…”

“…Finally, studies should also examine ways to improve adversarial relationships between fans in the long run. Research like the ambitious real-world intervention study by Mousa (2020) and the longitudinal field study of Yudkin et al. (2022) could inspire future work to illuminate how fan-to-fan interactions can be improved or even be harnessed to benefit society.…”

Collective Emotion: A Framework for Experimental Research

“…Lastly, the consequences of collective emotion may not only extend across time but also beyond the group of participants. For instance, the self-transformative experience of participants in a secular mass gathering predicted their willingness to invest time to help socially distant strangers (Yudkin et al, 2022). Overall, social rituals are ubiquitous (Whitehouse, 2021), and researchers found that experiences of collective effervescence are frequent in everyday settings (Gabriel et al, 2020).…”