LEVYNA conducted field research in Mauritius
Peter Maňo was awarded for his presentation "Socio-Economic Factors Involved in Participation in Extreme Rituals," which he gave at the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion conference, Boston in August.
The talk focused on the impact of various demographic and behavioral indicators on the intensity of ritual participation, where social status and participation in collective rituals proved to be the strongest predictors of extreme forms of participation. Here you can learn more about the conference as described by Connor Wood, here.
In a new study published in Human Nature, LEVYNA was part of a team lead by A.K. Willard, studying how witchcraft beliefs affect social norms and behaviors. Specifically, researchers investigated whether witchcraft is regarded to be motivated by envy and how this notion influences community interactions. The findings show that, while witchcraft accusations were common, they were mostly directed at persons suspected of acting out of envy.