The Effect of Performing Rituals on Improving Self-Control through Increasing Self-Discipline

A ritual is a certain chain of behaviors, whose characteristics are arrangement and repetitiveness. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of performing rituals on increasing self-control, and to test the hypothesized mechanism of this effect, that is, increased self-discipline. In an experimental design, 111 female students of Islamic Azad University-Karaj branch, were randomly selected and assigned into three groups: ritual movements, non-ritual movements, and control. The ritual movements group performed movements that had sequence and repetitiveness, but the non-ritual movements group performed movements without these two features. Then, the three groups were asked to choose one for eating from cream bread and broccoli, and the selection of broccoli was indicator of higher self-control. Feelings of self-discipline were measured by four questions from Duckworth and Seligman (2005). Logistic regression analysis showed that participants who performed ritual movements, chose broccoli more than participants who did not perform any movement or just performed non-ritual movements. Moreover, mediation analyses showed that rituals have a positive effect on self-control through increased self-discipline.