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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress
09:12

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Published on: July 4, 2013

When god sanctions killing: effect of scriptural violence on aggression

Brad J Bushman1, Robert D Ridge, Enny Das

  • 1Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson St., Ann Arbor, MI 48106, USA. bbushman@umich.edu

Psychological Science
|April 21, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Religious texts that depict God sanctioning violence can increase aggressive behavior, particularly among believers. This effect was observed in studies involving participants from diverse religious backgrounds.

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