Abstract
Rituals tend to be both causally opaque and goal-demoted, yet these two qualities are
rarely dissociated in the literature. Here we manipulate both factors and demonstrate their
unique influence on ritual cognition. In a 2 x 3 (Action-Type x Goal-Information)
between subjects design 484 US adults viewed Causally Opaque (Ritual) or Causally
Transparent (Ordinary) actions performed on identical objects. They were provided with
no goal information, positive goal information (‘Blessing’) or negative goal information
(‘Cursing’). Neither causal opacity nor goal information influenced perceptions of
physical change/causation. In contrast, causal opacity increased attributions of
‘specialness’, whereas goal-information did not. Finally, goal-information interacted with
action-type on measures of preference, such that ordinary actions are influenced by both
‘blessings’ and ‘curses’, but ritual actions are only influenced by ‘curses’. These findings
are interpreted in light of the Ritual Stance, and the cognitive bases of the effects are
described with reference to Boyer and Liénard’s Precaution theory of ritualized behavior.
The combined value of these two theories is discussed, and extended to a causal model of
developmental ritual ‘calibration’.