On the way to fusion through the pilgrims’ route: Factors that maintain identity fusion in collective rituals

Identity fusion, a visceral union between personal and group identity is considered to be triggered and maintained by collective rituals with certain characteristics (e.g., opaque causal actions, synchrony, high excitement) and by recalling such rituals. The purpose of the present research was to de...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Muelas Lobato, Roberto, Sainz, Mario
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Burgos (UBU)
Repositorio:Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos (RIUBU)
OAI Identifier:oai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/8457
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10259/8457
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Identity fusion
Maintainers
Pilgrimages
Rituals
Way of St James
Psicología
Sociología
Psychology
Sociology
Descripción
Sumario:Identity fusion, a visceral union between personal and group identity is considered to be triggered and maintained by collective rituals with certain characteristics (e.g., opaque causal actions, synchrony, high excitement) and by recalling such rituals. The purpose of the present research was to determine the factors that maintain identity fusion after taking part in the pilgrimage of the Way of Saint James. We conducted a study with pilgrims (N = 609) to analyze the factors associated with the characteristics of rituals (Wave 1; finishing point of the pilgrimage) and the sharing of episodic memories (Wave 2; three months later) that contribute to maintaining identity fusion. Results indicated that engaging in ritual practices and recalling episodic memories of the pilgrimage through contact with other pilgrims contribute to maintaining identity fusion. The importance of contact after taking part in the ritual is discussed.