Help me understand... you don't think this has elements of hazing?
Perhaps you are suggesting the 'tests' are not arbitrary but instead are an essential part of evaluating if someone is fit for a group?
Perhaps you are suggesting the 'tests' are not arbitrary but instead are an essential part of evaluating if someone is fit for a group?
What's being described above is covert signaling, where the group is trying to expand and employs pseudo-aggression as a combination recruitment/sorting strategy.