Control Deprivation Decreases, Not Increases, Belief in a Controlling God for People with Independent Self-Construal

Alper, Sinan; Sümer, Nebi

doi:10.1007/s12144-017-9710-9

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Indeed, only the findings by Verburg et al (2016) yielded compelling evidence for the control threat effect on religious belief. The study by Alper and Sümer (2017), on the other hand, appears to provide moderate evidence against the presence of the effect.…”

mentioning

confidence: 84%

“…8 Finally, with one exception (i.e. Alper & Sümer, 2017), all previously studied populations are from North America, mostly the United States (US). Besides the moderating effect of religiosity at the individual level, we expected additional cross-country differences between the Netherlands and the US, for two intertwined reasons.…”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Note that the figure displays results of the main experimental effect of the control manipulation on belief in a controlling God, although the listed studies' primary interest in some cases focused on different aspects. The studies investigated for instance the role of specific mediators (defensive reactions towards randomness; Kay et al, 2008, Study 2), moderators (anxiety; Laurin, Kay, & Moscovitch, 2008 1 ;Kay, Moscovitch, & Laurin, 2010, a personality trait related to independence and desire for autonomy ;Alper & Sümer, 2017), included additional conditions (a neutral condition; Verburg et al, 2016) 2 or a different source of control was manipulated (governmental control; Kay, Shepherd, Blatz, Chua, & Galinsky, 2010). .…”

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confidence: 99%

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Compensatory control and religious beliefs: a registered replication report across two countries

Hoogeveen

Wagenmakers

Kay

et al. 2018

Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology

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Compensatory Control Theory (CCT) suggests that religious belief systems provide an external source of control that can substitute a perceived lack of personal control. In a seminal paper, it was experimentally demonstrated that a threat to personal control increases endorsement of the existence of a controlling God. In the current registered report, we conducted a high-powered (N = 829) direct replication of this effect, using samples from the Netherlands and the United States (US). Our results show moderate to strong evidence for the absence of an experimental effect across both countries: belief in a controlling God did not increase after a threat compared to an affirmation of personal control. In a complementary preregistered analysis, an inverse relation between general feelings of personal control and belief in a controlling God was found in the US, but not in the Netherlands. We discuss potential reasons for the replication failure of the experimental effect and cultural mechanisms explaining the crosscountry difference in the correlational effect. Together, our findings suggest that experimental manipulations of control may be ineffective in shifting belief in God, but that individual differences in the experience of control may be related to religious beliefs in a way that is consistent with CCT.

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mentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Compensatory control and religious beliefs: a registered replication report across two countries

Hoogeveen

Wagenmakers

Kay

et al. 2018

Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology

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show abstract

“…Belief in determinism is linked with a diminished sense of free will, manifesting in a perceived decrease in control over one's life (Baumeister, Masicampo, & DeWall, 2009;Rigoni, Kühn, Gaudino, Sartori, & Brass, 2012;Rigoni, Kühn, Sartori, & Brass, 2011;Rigoni, Wilquin, Brass, & Burle, 2013;Vohs & Schooler, 2008). The seemingly contradictory natures of free will and determinism are also evident in their hydraulic relationship: People often compensate for a lack of personal control with beliefs in external control (Kay et al, 2008;Kay et al, 2009; but also see Alper & Sümer, 2019;Hoogeveen, Wagenmakers, Kay, & Van Elk, 2018). When personal control is lacking, individuals tend to seek refuge in the control and structure provided by external factors, as a general aversion to randomness (Kay, Gaucher, Napier, Callan, & Laurin, 2008;Kay, Sullivan, & Landau, 2015;Landau, Kay, & Whitson, 2015).…”

Section: Free Will and Determinism Beliefsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Do Beliefs in Free Will and Determinism Correlate with Beliefs in Conspiracy, Paranormal, and Pseudoscience Beliefs?

Alper,

Konukoğlu,

Atalay

et al. 2024

Preprint

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In this study, we tested the relationship between personal agency beliefs, represented by free will, scientific and fatalistic determinism and unpredictability, and epistemically suspect beliefs (ESBs), including conspiracy, paranormal, and pseudoscience beliefs, across two different cultures (Türkiye and the UK). In two preregistered studies (NStudy 1 = 682, NStudy 2 = 582), we proposed and found correlational evidence for the idea that although seemingly contradictory, both forms of determinism—scientific and fatalistic—might lead individuals to feel a reduced control over their actions, prompting them towards simpler explanations offered by ESBs, thereby compensating for a diminished sense of agency. The relationship between free will, unpredictability, and ESBs varied by culture, likely influenced by the cultural interpretation of those beliefs. Our results underscore the link between personal agency and ESBs, suggesting that ESBs may act as a safeguard against eroding personal agency.

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“…Finally, with one exception (i.e., Alper & Sümer, 2017), all previously studied populations are from North America, mostly the United States. Besides the moderating effect of religiosity at the individual level, we expected additional cross-country differences between the Netherlands and the United States, for two intertwined reasons.…”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compensatory Control and Belief in God: A Registered Replication Report Across Two Countries

Hoogeveen¹,

Wagenmakers²,

A³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Compensatory Control Theory (CCT) suggests that religious belief systems provide an external source of control that can substitute a perceived lack of personal control. In a seminal paper, Kay et al. (2008) experimentally demonstrated that a threat to personal control increases endorsement of the existence of a controlling God. In the current registered report, we conducted a high-powered (N = 829) direct replication of this effect, using samples from the Netherlands and the United States. Our results show moderate to strong evidence for the absence of an experimental effect across both countries: belief in a controlling God did not increase after a threat compared to an affirmation of personal control. In a complementary preregistered analysis, an inverse relation between general feelings of personal control and belief in a controlling God was found in the US, but not in the Netherlands. We discuss potential reasons for the replication failure of the experimental effect and cultural mechanisms explaining the cross-country difference in the correlational effect. Together, our findings suggest that experimental manipulations of control may be ineffective in shifting belief in God, but that individual differences in the experience of control may be related to religious beliefs in a way that is consistent with CCT.

show abstract

Control Deprivation Decreases, Not Increases, Belief in a Controlling God for People with Independent Self-Construal

Cited by 6 publications

References 20 publications

Compensatory control and religious beliefs: a registered replication report across two countries

Compensatory control and religious beliefs: a registered replication report across two countries

How Do Beliefs in Free Will and Determinism Correlate with Beliefs in Conspiracy, Paranormal, and Pseudoscience Beliefs?

Compensatory Control and Belief in God: A Registered Replication Report Across Two Countries

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