RT Article
T1 Fear the unseen: supernatural belief and agency detection in virtual reality
JF Religion, brain & behavior
VO 10
IS 2
SP 118
OP 131
A1 Tratner, Adam E.
A1 McDonald, Melissa M.
A1 Shackelford, Todd K. 1971-
A1 Vonk, Jennifer
A1 Zeigler-Hill, Virgil
A2 McDonald, Melissa M.
A2 Shackelford, Todd K. 1971-
A2 Vonk, Jennifer
A2 Zeigler-Hill, Virgil
LA English
YR 2020
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1741048397
AB Belief in supernatural agents is ubiquitous, as evidenced by its prevalence in religion, folklore, and cultural practices. It is theorized that, given recurrent ancestral risks of predation and frequent contact with other dangerous agents, mechanisms for agency detection may have evolved and play an important role in facilitating belief in supernatural agents. Thus, agency detection and belief in supernatural agents may be correlated in modern populations. College students (N = 107) completed a survey assessing belief in various supernatural phenomena, and participated in a virtual reality (VR) task where they indicated the perceived presence of agents (agency detection). Results indicated that the VR task successfully induced false agency detection such that the majority of participants perceived the presence of an agent at least once where no agent was present. Women reported greater overall supernatural belief than men. False agency detection was not related to belief in supernatural agents, and was instead related to belief in Feng Shui. These findings were unanticipated, and inconsistent with the study’s main hypothesis. Discussion emphasizes theoretical and methodological considerations for future research on agency detection and supernatural belief.
K1 Agency Detection
K1 Evolution
K1 Evolutionary Psychology
K1 supernatural agents
K1 supernatural belief
K1 Virtual Reality
DO 10.1080/2153599X.2018.1526207