Thoughts of religion prompt acts of punishment
Many religions offers plenty of positive incentives to their followers – the promise of life after death, for instance. But why have religions that involve self-sacrifice and punishment survived? The link between support for a religion and a willingness to inflict punishment may point to the answer....
Fehr wanted to find out what motivated people to punish others. Before deciding on the punishment, the second player was subliminally shown a group of words. These either related to religion – like "divine", "holy", "pious" and "religious" – to secular punishment, or were neutral words like "tractor".
After the game, all players were asked if they had donated money to a religious organisation in the previous year. The team found that those who had donated – about 15 per cent of participants – exacted the most severe punishments, but only after they had been shown the subliminal religious cues. When primed in this way, this group deducted roughly three times as many points on average as other players.
"We think that the cues give them a reminder they are being watched," says psychologist Ryan McKay of Royal Holloway University of London, who co-led the study with Fehr. "To please the supernatural agent they worship, they exact higher punishments. The other possibility is that the cued words awakened the concepts of appropriate punishment in their minds."
read more here New Scientist.
Isn't THAT interesting? I think so. Imagine if you were prompted 5 times or more every single day to think about God. Imagine if you constantly felt you were being watched by God. To the point where you can't think logically (or refuse to do so for fear of this God that is constantly watching you). Research such as this may go some way in explaining certain behaviors - such as the case of the Imam feeling so much joy at having a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. Punishing people for their sins. Christians used to love watching "Witches" burn at the stake. Of course this was back when Christians worries about God all day every day.
Anyway, I thought this was interesting research.
Many religions offers plenty of positive incentives to their followers – the promise of life after death, for instance. But why have religions that involve self-sacrifice and punishment survived? The link between support for a religion and a willingness to inflict punishment may point to the answer....
Fehr wanted to find out what motivated people to punish others. Before deciding on the punishment, the second player was subliminally shown a group of words. These either related to religion – like "divine", "holy", "pious" and "religious" – to secular punishment, or were neutral words like "tractor".
After the game, all players were asked if they had donated money to a religious organisation in the previous year. The team found that those who had donated – about 15 per cent of participants – exacted the most severe punishments, but only after they had been shown the subliminal religious cues. When primed in this way, this group deducted roughly three times as many points on average as other players.
"We think that the cues give them a reminder they are being watched," says psychologist Ryan McKay of Royal Holloway University of London, who co-led the study with Fehr. "To please the supernatural agent they worship, they exact higher punishments. The other possibility is that the cued words awakened the concepts of appropriate punishment in their minds."
read more here New Scientist.
Isn't THAT interesting? I think so. Imagine if you were prompted 5 times or more every single day to think about God. Imagine if you constantly felt you were being watched by God. To the point where you can't think logically (or refuse to do so for fear of this God that is constantly watching you). Research such as this may go some way in explaining certain behaviors - such as the case of the Imam feeling so much joy at having a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. Punishing people for their sins. Christians used to love watching "Witches" burn at the stake. Of course this was back when Christians worries about God all day every day.
Anyway, I thought this was interesting research.