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Robert N McCauley ; E Thomas Lawson

Bringing ritual to mind : psychological foundations of cultural forms /Robert N McCauley - New York : Cambridge University Press , 2002. - xiii, 236 pages ;24 cm.

Cognitive constraints on religious ritual form: a theory of participants' competence with religious ritual systems --
Ritual and memory: frequency and flashbulbs --
Two hypotheses concerning religious ritual and emotional stimulation --
Assessing the two hypotheses --
General profiles of religious ritual systems: the emerging cognitive science of religion.


Bringing Ritual to Mind explores the psychological foundations of religious rituals. Religious rituals exploit either high performance frequency or extraordinary emotional stimulation (but not both) to enhance recollection. McCauley and Lawson use a wide range of evidence to argue that the explanation lies in participants' cognitive representations of ritual form.

ISBN: 9780521016292

Publisher. No.: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd. ;7/22,Ansari Road ,Darya Ganj,New Delhi-110002

Subjects--Topical Terms:
Psychology, Religious

Index Terms--Genre/Form:
Ritual--Psychology

Dewey Class. No.: 291.380 MCC