Studies // Cited work
Rituals alleviate grieving for loved ones, lovers, and lotteries
Norton, M. I., & Gino, F. (2014). Rituals alleviate grieving for loved ones, lovers, and lotteries.
Level B Experiment doi:10.1037/a0031772
What this study supports
Supports the claim that recalling past rituals or completing novel rituals after a loss was followed by lower self-reported grief, mediated by feelings of control, including in people who did not believe in rituals. Short-term self-report after mostly minor or recalled losses; it does not test outcomes over months after bereavement.
- Who was studied
- Three experiments on losses of loved ones, of relationships and of a lottery chance; sample sizes are not stated in the abstract.
- Design
- Experiment
- Level of evidence
- Controlled studies: randomised or experimental designs, and syntheses of correlational work.
Claims that rest on it
Each claim states what the site asserts, at what strength, and with what caveat.
EmpiricalLevel BConfidence MODERATE
In three experiments, reflecting on past rituals or completing a novel ritual after a loss was followed by lower self-reported grief, mediated by increased feelings of control, including in people who did not believe in rituals.
- Scope
- Short-term self-reported grief after recalled bereavements and after non-bereavement losses such as a relationship or a lottery chance.
- Caveat
- One set of experiments; effects over months after bereavement and effects on prolonged grief were not measured.
Last reviewed · Review due · mourning-rituals-lower-grief-short-term