Anxiety and ritualization : Can attention discriminate compulsion from routine?
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Communicative and Integrative Biology |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | web |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2016.1174799 |
| Field | Philosophy and religion |
| Keywords | anxiety; ritualization; compulsory behavior; attention; routine |
| Description | Despite the wide occurrence of ritual behavior in humans and animals, much of its causal underpinnings, as well as evolutionary functions, remain unknown. A prominent line of research focuses on ritualization as a response to anxiogenic stimuli. By manipulating anxiety levels, and subsequently assessing their motor behavior dynamics, our recent study investigated this causal link in a controlled way. As an extension to our original argument, we here discuss 2 theoretical explanations of rituals—Ritualized Behavior and Automated Behavior—and their link to anxiety. We propose that investigating participant’s locus of attention can discriminate between these 2 models |
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