Lecture 11 - Psychology of Religion Flashcards
What are the four core components of religion?
- Counterintuiton: supernatural agents that defy intuitive understandings of the world.
- Commitment: rituals to reinforce beliefs (dissonance theory).
- Compassion: relationship with a god -> need for belonging and transcendence.
- Communion: belong within a framework that bolster beliefs.
What is the difference between typical and abnormal religions?
Typical: gods are more unique than humans but not exceedingly so. No access to extraordinary information, no moral concerns and locally constrained.
Abnormal: deity is extremely powerful (omniscient and omnipotent), are omnipresent and care deeply about morals/humanity.
What are the effects of religion and donating to charity?
Some participants primed with religiosity (word association -> divine, spirit) and control. Given $10 worth of $1 coins and they could donate or keep as much as they liked. In the control, average was $2 given and skewed towards keeping the majority but it was a normal curve for religious participants ($4 average).
What is the difference in behaviour when believing in a good vs. a mean god?
Told to not press a button, as that was cheating. Measured how much participants cheated. No difference based on religiosity. However, those who believed in a punitive god cheated less and those who believed in a kind god cheated more (View of god scale).
What are the effects of religion on compassion?
Measured baseline trait-compassion. High trait-compassion leads to more prosocial behaviours in those who are non-religious than those who are religious.
Why are atheists viewed as less trustworthy?
Less trustworthy than gay men and people in general. Perhaps due to there being no reason for cooperation from an evolutionary perspective.
