Psychology · Cognition · Human Flourishing
A research programme using Ramadan — one of the world's largest collective self-regulation exercises — as a natural laboratory for studying cognition, cooperation, and human flourishing.
Funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation · Grant #30295Key findings
Across six studies spanning cognition, cooperation, and measurement, a consistent picture emerges of fasting as a psychologically rich, socially embedded practice.
Ramadan participants show greater gains in inhibitory control accuracy over the month compared to controls — improvements moderated by trait self-control, suggesting motivation shapes practice effects.
Ritual participation alone does not increase generosity. When fasting is made psychologically salient, Ramadan participants give more to anonymous others. When group identities are foregrounded, giving becomes parochial.
Fasting participants show reduced preference for risky choices, consistent with engagement of self-regulatory cognitive processes that overlap with impulse control.
Cognitive and behavioural effects are not explained by caloric restriction or hunger alone. Values, beliefs about willpower, and motivational orientation play a stronger role.
Research
Six studies using experimental and observational designs, conducted between 2017 and 2025.
A randomised longitudinal study tracking inhibitory control before, during, and after Ramadan. Food-reminder probes during Ramadan impaired response accuracy and speed in fasters but not controls. Published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (doi.org/10.1177/01461672211070385).
Examines why people undertake Ramadan fasting and how different motivational orientations — autonomous vs. controlled — shape the psychological experience of the fast. Published in Motivation Science, 9(4), 327–339 · doi.org/10.1037/mot0000310.
Examines whether a month of collective self-deprivation reduces risk tolerance and increases cooperative behaviour in anonymous resource dilemmas. Published in Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology (doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100152).
A three-wave difference-in-difference study tracking reaction time and accuracy on an inhibitory control task alongside beliefs about self-control. Ramadan participants showed greater accuracy gains than controls, moderated by trait self-control. Published in Religion, Brain & Behavior (June 2025 · doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2025.2487277).
Three longitudinal Dictator Game studies (2023–2025) testing whether private ritual participation promotes generosity. Fasting salience — not fasting itself — drove increased giving; explicit group identity cues produced parochialism. Under review · Preprint.
Introduces Jamasp, an end-to-end platform integrating Fitbit with Prolific for scalable physiological data collection. Pilot study with N = 41 participants over 65 days demonstrated high data completeness across heart rate, sleep, and activity streams. Under review · Preprint.
About the project
An annual, large-scale, self-regulated practice carried out by hundreds of millions of people makes Ramadan one of the most powerful natural experiments available to behavioural science.
Most fasting research focuses on caloric restriction and health outcomes. The psychological, behavioural, and social dimensions of voluntary collective fasting remain largely unstudied — particularly in non-WEIRD populations.
Ramadan offers a strict, standardised protocol followed by a large, multicultural population, providing an unparalleled opportunity to study self-regulation, cognitive control, and social behaviour under real-world conditions.
Mostafa Salari Rad, Department of Psychology, The New School for Social Research, New York. Research interests include cultural psychology, self-regulation, religion, and behavioural measurement.
This research is funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation (Grant #30295). The funder played no role in study design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation.
Studies were conducted under approved protocols from the Institutional Review Board of The New School for Social Research and deemed exempt from full review.
All studies use longitudinal, multi-wave designs with Ramadan participants and naive controls recruited through Prolific. Experimental tasks assess inhibitory control, risk preferences, and prosocial decision-making before, during, and after the fast.
Tools & resources
Platforms, datasets, and experimental infrastructure developed as part of this project.
End-to-end platform for wearable research via Fitbit and Prolific. Handles consent, OAuth device linking, automated data retrieval, and structured storage in Google BigQuery.
jamasp.app →Open-source experimental task platform used to administer behavioural tasks (Dictator Game, inhibitory control) across longitudinal waves via browser.
github.com/cutsocial/lens →Anonymised aggregate data, BigQuery SQL queries, and database schema from the Jamasp pilot are publicly available on GitHub.
github.com/cutsocial/jamasp-public →Whether you're a researcher, journalist, or employer interested in accommodating fasting employees — we'd like to hear from you.