Supernatural belief is not modulated by intuitive thinking style or cognitive inhibition

Farias, Miguel; van Mulukom, Valerie; Kahane, Guy; Kreplin, Ute; Joyce, Anna; Soares, Pedro; Oviedo, Lluis; Hernu, Mathilde; Rokita, Karolina; Savulescu, Julian; M�tt�nen, Riikka

Abstract

According to the Intuitive Belief Hypothesis, supernatural belief relies heavily on intuitive thinking—and decreases when analytic thinking is engaged. After pointing out various limitations in prior attempts to support this Intuitive Belief Hypothesis, we test it across three new studies using a variety of paradigms, ranging from a pilgrimage field study to a neurostimulation experiment. In all three studies, we found no relationship between intuitive or analytical thinking and supernatural belief. We conclude that it is premature to explain belief in gods as ‘intuitive’, and that other factors, such as socio-cultural upbringing, are likely to play a greater role in the emergence and maintenance of supernatural belief than cognitive style.

Citation

Farias, M., van Mulukom, V., Kahane, G., Kreplin, U., Joyce, A., Soares, P., …Möttönen, R. (2017). Supernatural belief is not modulated by intuitive thinking style or cognitive inhibition. Scientific Reports, 7(1), Article 15100. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14090-9

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 29, 2017
• Publication Date: Nov 8, 2017
• Deposit Date: Dec 5, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 5, 2017
• Journal: Scientific Reports
• Electronic ISSN: 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 15100
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14090-9
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/893226
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-14090-9