Cultural influences on the teleological stance: evidence from China
Recent research has suggested that humans have a robust tendency to default to teleological (i.e., purpose-based) explanations of natural phenomena. However, because samples have previously been heavily drawn from Western cultures, it is unclear whether this is a universal cognitive bias or whether...
| Authors: | ; ; ; ; ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge
2017
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| In: |
Religion, brain & behavior
Year: 2017, Volume: 7, Issue: 1, Pages: 17-26 |
| Further subjects: | B
China
B cognitive universals B Dual processing B Culture B Teleology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Recent research has suggested that humans have a robust tendency to default to teleological (i.e., purpose-based) explanations of natural phenomena. However, because samples have previously been heavily drawn from Western cultures, it is unclear whether this is a universal cognitive bias or whether prior findings are a product of Western philosophical and theological traditions. We evaluated these possibilities by administering a speeded judgment task to adults in China - a country that underwent nearly 40 years of institutionally enforced atheism in the Maoist era and which has markedly different cultural beliefs than those found in Western societies. Results indicated that Chinese adults, like Western adults, have a propensity to favor scientifically unwarranted teleological explanations under processing constraints. However, results also yielded suggestive evidence that Chinese culture may attenuate baseline tendencies to be teleological. Overall, this study provides the strongest evidence to date of the cross-cultural robustness of a teleological explanatory bias. |
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| ISSN: | 2153-5981 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion, brain & behavior
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/2153599X.2015.1118402 |