title: Withdraw or affiliate? The role of humiliation during initiation rituals.
abstract: Initiation rituals can take different forms and empirical evidence is inconsistent as to whether these rituals promote affiliation among novices. We argue that experienced humiliation during initiations leads to less affiliation among novices, in particular when one is initiated as sole group member rather than as part of the group. We examined this hypothesis in three studies, using different paradigms. In Study 1 (N = 123), perceived severity of an initiation in the past was associated with lower affiliation with other novices; this relationship was mediated by experienced humiliation. Study 2 (N = 64) showed that public derogation in the lab led to more humiliation when participants were the only victim than when they were derogated as a group. Study 3 (N = 248), a vignette study, showed that a similar effect of social context was mediated by expected support from other novices. We conclude that severe initiations may, due to experienced humiliation, result in less rather than more affiliation with fellow novices.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Social Psychology , University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands .
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.affiliation: a Department of Social Psychology , University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands .
authors.forename: Allard R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Feddes
authors.affiliation: a Department of Social Psychology , University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands .
authors.forename: Bertjan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Doosje
authors.affiliation: a Department of Social Psychology , University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands .
authors.forename: Agneta H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Fischer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002562:Ceremonial Behavior; D065822:College Fraternities and Sororities; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012919:Social Behavior; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Affiliation; Hazing; Humiliation; Initiation rituals; Social support