Examples of painful initiation rites in their various incarnations, from walking through fire to paying steep membership fees, abound in societies throughout history. These rites symbolically bind individuals into groups, but why do they so often involve pain or loss?

A recent study looks at the effect of sharing an experience of physical pain on subsequent cooperation. In one study, people who shared a painful experience (eating a viciously hot chili pepper) felt worse as a consequence, and yet they cooperated more with one another in a subsequent economic game. Compared to those who worked side by side on a pain-free task, those study participants who had to endure sticking their hand in a bucket of ice in order to complete the task cooperated more with their co-sufferers in an economic game. Additionally, they reported feeling more trust, solidarity and bonding with the people they had just met. The pain amplified the shared experience they had just had, acting as social glue and forming interpersonal bonds.

What this research suggests is that sharing intense experiences helps promote the creation and strengthening of social bonds. What it does not suggest is a “no pain no gain” logic; the pain that led to cooperation was a mild challenge people encountered while working towards a goal. Crucially, the pain was imposed by a third party, analogous to policy decisions and natural disasters, which have been known to unite people that they adversely impact.

In making progress towards shared goals, like those of social justice, groups of people often face painful challenges, both physical pain and that of social indignities. What this research implies is that when people endure these challenges together, such as inclement weather and police coercion during protests, this should strengthen trust, cooperation and social bonds among them.