Science University Research Symposium (SURS)
Impact of Religious Priming on Prosocial Behavior toward Various Social Groups
Publication Date
Fall 2023
College
Sciences and Mathematics, College of
Department
Psychological Science, Department of
SURS Faculty Advisor
Adam Smiley
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
Priming occurs when a recent presentation of a stimulus influences subsequent processing, particularly related to the same or related stimuli. (“APA Dictionary of Psychology,” 2023). It has been demonstrated that priming with religious stimuli is associated with greater willingness to engage in prosocial behavior (Pichon & Saroglou, 2009). There are conflicting studies as to whether the semantic primes of “God” and “religion” elicit different thought patterns, specifically regarding prosociality toward either ingroup or outgroup members (Preston & Ritter, 2013; Ramsay et al., 2016). Given these prior research endeavors, we sought to add to the body of knowledge regarding the impact of specific religious semantic primes on prosocial behavior toward different social groups. We hypothesized that priming with "God" (vs. "religion") would lead to more prosocial behavior toward outgroups relative to ingroups. The participant sample included undergraduate introductory psychology students who participated for class credit and individuals recruited via word-of-mouth by the researchers. Participants were randomly primed with either “God” or “religion” through a Scrambled Sentence task, chose to assist either ingroup or outgroup members in multiple fictional scenarios, responded to the Centrality of Religiosity Scale, and provided demographic information. Results and discussion are forthcoming.
Recommended Citation
McKinley, Niya; Gerndt, Wesley; Minter, Mary Caroline; and Rolinitis, Arwen, "Impact of Religious Priming on Prosocial Behavior toward Various Social Groups" (2023). Science University Research Symposium (SURS). 87.
https://repository.belmont.edu/surs/87