Traveling Groups Stick Together: How Collective Directional Movement Influences Social Cohesion

Evolutionary Psychology

StuartWilson¹ 

关键词: group cohesion;    travel psychology;    behavioral synchrony;    collective movements;    directional movement;   

DOI  :  10.1177/1474704918792134

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Sage Journals

【 摘 要 】

We tested the hypothesis that the social act of moving through space with others—collective directional movement—is associated with greater levels of group cohesion compared to static activities. We asked participants to imagine participating in activities as part of a same-sex group and found that imagining going on a journey is associated with higher levels of expected cohesion compared to imagining attending a meeting (Study 1) or an event (Study 2). Study 3 replicates the main effect using different manipulations and finds that it persists regardless of whether the imagined group were friends or strangers. Two further studies employed real-world tasks and show that the effect is not a consequence of goal ascription (Study 4) or synchrony/exertion (Study 5). We argue that the link between this activity and cohesion is a consequence of its ubiquity in social ecologies and the interdependence and shared common fate of those engaged in it.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC