From Catholics performing the sign of the cross since the 4th century to Americans reciting the Pledge of Allegiance since the 1890s, group rituals (i.e., predefined sequences of symbolic actions) have strikingly consistent features over time. Seven studies (N = 4,213) document the sacrosanct nature of rituals: Because group rituals symbolize sacred group values, even minor alterations to them provoke moral outrage and punishment. In Pilot Studies A and B, fraternity members who failed to complete initiation activities that were more ritualistic elicited relatively greater moral outrage and hazing from their fraternity brothers. Study 1 uses secular holiday rituals to explore the dimensions of ritual alteration-both physical and psychological-that elicit moral outrage. Study 2 suggests that altering a ritual elicits outrage even beyond the extent to which the ritual alteration is seen as violating descriptive and injunctive norms. In Study 3, group members who viewed male circumcision as more ritualistic (i.e., Jewish vs. Muslim participants) expressed greater moral outrage in response to a proposal to alter circumcision to make it safer. Study 4 uses the Pledge of Allegiance ritual to explore how the intentions of the person altering the ritual influence observers' moral outrage and punishment. Finally, in Study 5, even minor alterations elicited comparable levels of moral outrage to major alterations of the Jewish Passover ritual. Across both religious and secular rituals, the more ingroup members believed that rituals symbolize sacred group values, the more they protected their rituals-by punishing those who violated them. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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当更改是违规行为时：道德上的愤怒和惩罚以响应（甚至是轻微的）仪式更改。

从 4 世纪以来执行十字架标志的天主教徒到 1890 年代以来背诵效忠誓言的美国人，群体仪式（即预定义的象征性动作序列）随着时间的推移具有惊人的一致特征。七项研究（N = 4,213）记录了仪式的神圣本质：因为群体仪式象征着神圣的群体价值观，即使是对它们的微小改动也会引发道德愤怒和惩罚。在试点研究 A 和 B 中，未能完成更具仪式性的启蒙活动的兄弟会成员引起了兄弟会兄弟的相对更大的道德愤怒和侮辱。研究 1 使用世俗的节日仪式来探索引起道德愤怒的仪式改变的维度——身体和心理。研究 2 表明，改变仪式会引起愤怒，甚至超出了仪式改变被视为违反描述性和禁令性规范的程度。在研究 3 中，认为男性割礼更具仪式性的团体成员（即犹太人与穆斯林参与者）对改变割礼以使其更安全的提议表达了更大的道德愤慨。研究 4 使用效忠誓言仪式来探索改变仪式的人的意图如何影响观察者的道德愤怒和惩罚。最后，在研究 5 中，即使是很小的改动也会引起与犹太逾越节仪式的重大改动相当的道德愤怒。在宗教和世俗仪式中，更多的内群体成员认为仪式象征着神圣的群体价值观，他们越是保护他们的仪式——通过惩罚那些违反他们的人。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2022 APA，保留所有权利）。