biostudies-literatureUnknown16(3)Wilson SWe tested the hypothesis that the social act of moving through space with others-collective directional movement-is associated with greater levels of group cohesion compared to static activities. We asked participants to imagine participating in activities as part of a same-sex group and found that imagining going on a journey is associated with higher levels of expected cohesion compared to imagining attending a meeting (Study 1) or an event (Study 2). Study 3 replicates the main effect using different manipulations and finds that it persists regardless of whether the imagined group were friends or strangers. Two further studies employed real-world tasks and show that the effect is not a consequence of goal ascription (Study 4) or synchrony/exertion (Study 5). We argue that the link betweEvolutionary psychology : an international journal of evolutionary approaches to psychology and behavior1474704918792134https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10480943biostudies-literatureTraveling Groups Stick Together: How Collective Directional Movement Influences Social Cohesion.PMC10480943Dolan LCWilson SWatson MBassiou EDenli AfalseTraveling Groups Stick Together: How Collective Directional Movement Influences Social Cohesion.We tested the hypothesis that the social act of moving through space with others-collective directional movement-is associated with greater levels of group cohesion compared to static activities. We asked participants to imagine participating in activities as part of a same-sex group and found that imagining going on a journey is associated with higher levels of expected cohesion compared to imagining attending a meeting (Study 1) or an event (Study 2). Study 3 replicates the main effect using different manipulations and finds that it persists regardless of whether the imagined group were friends or strangers. Two further studies employed real-world tasks and show that the effect is not a consequence of goal ascription (Study 4) or synchrony/exertion (Study 5). We argue that the link betwe2018-01-01T00:00:00Z2018 Jul-Sep2026-06-04T09:34:08.757Z2025-04-21T15:37:59.234ZS-EPMC104809433007175710.1177/1474704918792134