LEVYNA conducted field research in Mauritius
As is our good tradition, LEVYNA members conducted a research trip to Mauritius in May 2025.
This year’s Mauritian expedition combined research with rich cultural immersion.
Estimated Costs and Benefits of Extreme Rituals in Mauritius
Why do people willingly engage in painful or exhausting rituals with no obvious material reward?
In a new paper by LEVYNA team, we expand the costly signalling theory of religion by examining how participants themselves evaluate ritual participation. Using the Thaipusam Kavadi festival in Mauritius as a case study, we show that what makes such signals reliable markers of commitment is not shared perceptions of “cost,” but differences in perceived benefits.
For insiders—those who believe in the ritual’s spiritual efficacy—participation brings both cooperative and supernatural benefits. Outsiders, who do not share these expectations, see no comparable gains, making the same act appear irrational or “too costly.”
Our findings suggest that religious and cooperative signals persist not because everyone agrees on their difficulty, but because participants and observers compute their value differently.
Read the full study here:
Part of the Signaler Psychology project:
