Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
Experimental anthropologist, cognitive scientist, dad, author of Ritual: How seemingly senseless acts make life worth living
Psychology
33%
Sociology
22%
New paper out!
We test a simple question: Do people judge the exact same action differently when it’s framed as a ritual rather than something ordinary?
Spoiler: yes!
Check it out here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We test a simple question: Do people judge the exact same action differently when it’s framed as a ritual rather than something ordinary?
Spoiler: yes!
Check it out here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· Oct 31
Physical discomfort predicts parochial altruism during Pope Francis’s funeral
Large-scale public rituals often impose significant physical and psychological burdens, yet are widespread across cultures. Evolutionary theories ofte…
www.sciencedirect.com
New paper published with Claire White and
Matilde Hernu on the self-signaling effects of attending Pope Francis’s Funeral www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Matilde Hernu on the self-signaling effects of attending Pope Francis’s Funeral www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· Oct 11
Was the Barista Express working?
I wonder whether this is true for all or at least the majority of contexts. Do most people think more favorably of Turkish, Chinese, Greek, or Canadian people than of their respective governments?
Jane Goodall Changed How We See Ourselves
She spent her life among chimpanzees, but in the process, Jane Goodall transformed our understanding of what it means to be human.
www.psychologytoday.com
My obituary for one of my childhood (and adulthood) heroes, Jane Goodall. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-...
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· Sep 18
@davidwengrow.bsky.social’s talk was so packed at the Brain Bar today was so packed I literally couldn’t fit through the door - I had to pull some special favors to enter from backstage
Reposted by Márk E. Hauber, Dimitris Xygalatas, Jill A. Jacobson
Josh de Leeuw
@joshdeleeuw.bsky.social
· Jul 29
Assistant Professor of Cognitive Science, Tenure Track
Department Cognitive Science Vassar College is dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees and welcomes applications from individuals of all backgrounds. Deci...
vassar.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Vassar College is hiring a tenure track assistant professor in cognitive science. vassar.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Vassar...
I'll be at #CogSci2025 - happy to chat about the position and life at Vassar.
I'll be at #CogSci2025 - happy to chat about the position and life at Vassar.
Reposted by Dimitris Xygalatas
Noema Magazine
@noemamag.com
· Jul 3
To Save Nature, Make It Sacred | NOEMA
Beyond science and policy, the key to protecting Earth’s most vulnerable ecosystems may lie in the human capacity to treat certain places as sacred.
www.noemamag.com
“Could mundane, often thankless tasks — cycling, tree-planting, recycling — be reframed not as chores, but as rituals of care & connection that inspire a deeper commitment to environmental stewardship?”
— @xygalatas.bsky.social
— @xygalatas.bsky.social
a crowd of people are standing in a stadium with a banner that says ' npa ' on it .
ALT: a crowd of people are standing in a stadium with a banner that says ' npa ' on it .
media.tenor.com
Using heart rate data to measure emotional synchrony, we show how shared rituals involving chants, flares, and anticipation—bind people emotionally.
Even the team bus driver synced with the crowd.
This isn't just sports. It’s collective effervescence!
🔥📈❤️
Even the team bus driver synced with the crowd.
This isn't just sports. It’s collective effervescence!
🔥📈❤️
Just out in PNAS!
Our new study finds that a pregame ritual created stronger emotional synchrony among football fans than the game itself.
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
Read: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
#Science #Rituals #Emotion #Football #CollectiveBehavior
Our new study finds that a pregame ritual created stronger emotional synchrony among football fans than the game itself.
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
Read: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
#Science #Rituals #Emotion #Football #CollectiveBehavior
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· May 22
Today, the UK has decided to comply with international law and hand the last British colony in Africa, the Chagos islands, back to Mauritius. On this historic occasion, we were honored to meet with the Chagossian community and share their excitement and hope for a better future.
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· May 22
bringing the lab into the field...
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· May 19
Can you explain the grounds for this objection, Rohan? In fields like anthropology, including key informants as participants is becoming increasingly common. Why is that problematic?
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· May 14
But critically, our results introduce a key nuance to these models, which highlights a self-directed function where the experience of discomfort serves not only as a public display but also as an internal self-signal of devotion, reinforcing moral alignment with the ingroup.
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· May 14
This aligns with parochial altruism models positing that altruism and intergroup bias co-evolve to promote within-group cooperation and between-group competition, and evolutionary theories suggesting that effortful ritual acts function as costly signals of commitment to shared beliefs or identities
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· May 14
The more discomfort people experienced, the more they gave to an ingroup (Catholic) charity compared to a neutral one (Red Cross). and this effect was stronger for locals, and those identifying more strongly as Catholics.
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· May 14
As 250,000 gathered in the Vatican to pay their respects, they had to endure queues of up to 8 hours under the hot sun, with limited access to shade, rest, water, and sanitation. After assessing how much discomfort they experienced, we looked at charitable giving to two causes
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· May 14
Check out our new pre-print, reporting findings that the cost of attending Pope Francis's funeral predicts parochial altruism, supporting theories of self-signaling osf.io/preprints/os...
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· Apr 30
Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion
Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion is the official journal of the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion (IACSR).
journal.equinoxpub.com
Very excited to see this panel on my book on #Ritual in JCSR, with contributions from an amazing group of scholars in the #Cog&EvoScienceOfReligion! journal.equinoxpub.com/JCSR/index
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· Apr 17
This, of course, is a straw man argument that no one actually makes. A much more pertinent question is, what if most people are biased in subtle but important ways, from the way they see themselves to the way their memory works?
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· Apr 15
Testing wearable equipment by dancing at the Experimental Anthropology Lab. Who said science is not fun?
Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
· Apr 10
Our lab is featured in several parts of the latest National Geographic special issue on religion. Here, our grad student, Sevgi Demiroglu, talks about her fieldwork in Toraja, Indonesia
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
@uconn.bsky.social
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
@uconn.bsky.social
no way!
Trump is imposing a 10% tariff on the Heard and McDonald Islands.
The Heard and McDonald Islands are uninhabited.
The Heard and McDonald Islands are uninhabited.
The only humans in the British Indian Ocean Territory (which is not a country) are the personnel of a US military base. They are imposing tariffs on themselves!
Trump is imposing a 10% tariff on the Heard and McDonald Islands.
The Heard and McDonald Islands are uninhabited.
The Heard and McDonald Islands are uninhabited.