HUMAN CEREMONIAL RITUAL AND THE MODULATION OF AGGRESSION

. Human ceremonial ritual is considered as an evolved behavior, one of the principal effects of which is the promotion of intragroup cohesion by decreasing or eliminating intragroup aggression. It is seen as a major determinant of what Victor Turner calls communitas in human social groups of varying...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zygon 1985-03, Vol.20 (1), p.21-30
Main Author: D'Aquili, Eugene G.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:. Human ceremonial ritual is considered as an evolved behavior, one of the principal effects of which is the promotion of intragroup cohesion by decreasing or eliminating intragroup aggression. It is seen as a major determinant of what Victor Turner calls communitas in human social groups of varying extension. The frequent paradoxical effect of ritual's promoting extragroup aggression at the same time that it diminishes intragroup aggression is considered. A neuroevolutionary model of the development and social effects of ritual behavior is presented, being derived from both ethology and recent neurophysiological studies in humans.
ISSN:0591-2385
1467-9744
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9744.1985.tb00575.x