To begin with, a hypothesis is made regarding the possibility of treating imitation as a key mechanism in the induction of trance states. The author argues that this thesis can be justified convincingly on the basis of empirical material collected by researchers of shamanism. The theories of religion formulated by evolutionary psychologists place emphasis on the origins of religious concepts. However, they leave aside the question of ritual, and also do not permit a more thorough study of the mechanisms generating a ritual trance state. In order to analyse the cognitive aspects of trance, it is therefore necessary to construct a different theoretical model.