Extreme Social Bonding During Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral

Social scientists have long proposed that funerary rituals foster group cohesion. Our research rigorously tests and refines these long-standing qualitative claims by uncovering the causal mechanisms and quantifiable effects of this universal human behavior. We conducted two preregistered sequential studies following the national funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, exploring the psycho-social pathways to identity fusion and their impact on pro-group commitment among 1,869 British spectators. The initial study, involving 1,632 participants surveyed within two weeks of the funeral, validated predictions that intense sadness during the event correlated with heightened identity fusion and pro-group commitment. The subsequent longitudinal examination, involving 237 participants over 12 months, delved into the causal psycho-social pathways to identity fusion. As expected, the visceral quality of memories exerted a transformative effect on personal identity through processes of personal reflection, ultimately leading to identity fusion via perceived sharedness within the group.This research contributes to accumulating evidence that sharing emotionally intense dysphoric experiences with others, including viewing sacred rituals, leads to incredibly potent social bonding.