The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life

by Kevin Simler

This can mean marching together, singing or chanting in unison, clapping hands to a beat, or even just wearing the same clothes. In the early decades of the 20th century, IBM used corporate songs to instill a sense of unity among their workers.49 Some companies in Japan still use these practices today. In 2009, Stanford psychologists Scott Wiltermuth and Chip Heath demonstrated this synchrony–solidarity effect experimentally. They first asked groups of students to perform synchronized movements (such as marching around campus together), then had them play “public goods” games to measure the degree to which individuals were willing to take risks for the benefit of the group. What they found across three experiments is that “people acting in synchrony with others cooperated more in subsequent group economic exercises, even in situations requiring personal sacrifice.”50 Religions are understandably keen to take advantage of this effect. Almost every major religious tradition involves some form of synchronized movement. Hare Krishnas, for example, use song and dance in their religious practice and public outreach. Most modern Christians don’t dance as part of their worship, but early Christians did (at least until the Middle Ages),51 and most congregations even today continue to chant and sing in unison. Even shared silence can foster solidarity, like in a Quaker meeting house, or when an otherwise boisterous congregation takes a moment to pray quietly together. When daily lif...