Final answer:
Themes in the cultural evolutionary trade-off of ritualistic synchrony revolve around the psychological benefits of collective worship, the symbolic nature of rituals that support social structures, and the function of rituals within cultural variety and adaptation to change.
Step-by-step explanation:
The themes present in the cultural evolutionary trade-off of ritualistic synchrony include psychological components of collective worship - such as dancing, singing, and achieving trance-like states - which induce serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin increases in the brain. These neurochemicals foster social unity, reinforce participation, and lead to the desire to repeat these rituals. For example, ancestral societies and groups like the Sentinelese people and Australian aborigines exhibit these forms of worship.
Rituals are an integral part of social structures and are embedded with symbols that may symbolize unity, passage, or rebellion, as seen in various cultural expressions across the world. An understanding of ritualistic practices contributes to the examination of social norms, cultural stability, and potential for change, such as the interplay between the caste system and societal structure in India.
Anthropological studies further demonstrate that rituals - categorized as rites of passage, rites of intensification, and revitalization rituals - fulfill various functions within a community, often as an adaptive response to ecological or social crises, hence contributing to the cultural variety and teleology of a society.