Theory 08
From Durkheim's collective ritual to Collins's interaction ritual chains, collective effervescence and synchrony: what theories of shared emotion propose, what gatherings and rituals have been found to do, and why ritual is not resolution.
Research note 03
What moving in time with others does to people: evidence that synchrony increases affiliation and cooperation, that group dance raises pain thresholds, and that musical peaks engage the brain's reward system.
Interactive models
Five interactive models, computed in your browser from values you set, show how relief can strengthen a habit, how arousal shapes anger, how memory weighs peaks and endings, how rhythms fall into step and how stress load accumulates.
Question 09
Synchrony, exertion and music each contribute something measurable: liking and cooperation, raised pain thresholds, and reward responses to musical peaks. What the experiments measured, and when they stopped measuring.
Question 10
Collective effervescence is associated with identity, integration and wellbeing across 50 samples, but the synchrony experiments stopped measuring within hours. What survives the walk home, and what is only inferred.
Advice 07 · Replicated experimental
Dancing, singing and moving in synchrony with others increases closeness and cooperation and lifts mood acutely. Treat these as real benefits, and do not expect them to resolve the difficulties you bring with you.