Supernatural Agency: Individual Difference Predictors and Situational Correlates
Barrett (2004) proposed that belief in God, ghosts, and other supernatural agents is cross-culturally ubiquitous because of a cognitive Hypersensitive Agency Detection Device with the propensity to find agents in the environment. However, supernatural agency experiences are not reported by all relig...
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| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2013
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| In: |
The international journal for the psychology of religion
Year: 2013, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 42-62 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Barrett (2004) proposed that belief in God, ghosts, and other supernatural agents is cross-culturally ubiquitous because of a cognitive Hypersensitive Agency Detection Device with the propensity to find agents in the environment. However, supernatural agency experiences are not reported by all religious believers. A survey explored individual differences between those reporting never having had a spiritual, religious, supernatural, or paranormal (SRSP) experience (n = 284) and those who reported at least one (n = 299). SRSP experiences were associated with a distinct psychological profile, including higher scores on measures of positive schizotypy, thinner mental boundaries, and empathy; however, the difference in psychological profile was not specific to agentic SRSP experience. Experiences of nonreligious supernatural agency (n = 80) were more likely than other types of SRSP experiences to have occurred in a threatening and ambiguous environment and to be accompanied by increased negative affect, thus providing initial support for Barrett's hypothesis that the threshold for agency detection is lowered under such conditions. |
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| ISSN: | 1532-7582 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The international journal for the psychology of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2013.739066 |