Descriptions of religious experience using trait and affect adjectives

Area of Science:

• Psychology of Religion
• Personality Psychology
• Affective Science

Background:

• Understanding the psychological dimensions of religious experiences is crucial for comprehending subjective spirituality.
• Previous research has explored personality correlates of religiousness, but specific affective and trait descriptors for the experience itself require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify which personality traits and affective states are most relevant for describing individuals' feelings during religious experiences.
• To examine the utility of the five-factor model of personality in characterizing the subjective nature of religious experiences.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-six adults participated in the study.
• Participants rated the relevance of various adjectives representing dimensions of affect and personality (e.g., positive affect, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness) to their religious experiences.

Main Results:

• Adjectives associated with positive affect (enthusiastic, at ease), low neuroticism (calm, relaxed), high agreeableness (soft-hearted, sympathetic), conscientiousness (conscientious, reliable), and extraversion (sociable, talkative) were rated as descriptive of religious experiences.
• The personality dimension of openness did not significantly discriminate religious experiences among participants.

Conclusions:

• Religious experiences are strongly associated with positive affect and specific personality traits, particularly agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion.
• The findings suggest limitations in applying the five-factor model of personality to fully capture the nuances of religious experiences, aligning with prior criticisms regarding the model's scope.