Religious Priming: A Meta-Analysis With a Focus on Prosociality

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Religious priming is a psychological tool used to study religion's impact on behavior.
• Growing literature raises questions about the reliability and conditions of religious priming effects.
• Previous research has explored religion's influence on prosocial behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the robustness of religious priming using meta-analytic techniques.
• To review empirical evidence for religion's effect on prosocial behavior.
• To test if religious priming effects generalize to non-religious individuals.

Main Methods:

• Conducted traditional effect-size analyses, p-curve analyses, and adjustments for publication bias.
• Synthesized data from 93 studies involving 11,653 participants.
• Examined four types of religious priming and their effects on various outcomes.

Main Results:

• Religious priming demonstrated robust effects across diverse psychological outcomes, including prosocial behavior.
• The study found no reliable priming effects among participants reporting low or no religiosity.
• Evidence suggests priming effects are contingent on the cognitive activation of religious beliefs.

Conclusions:

• Religious priming is a reliable psychological phenomenon with measurable effects on behavior.
• The efficacy of religious priming is linked to the individual's existing religious cognitive framework.
• Future research should consider the role of religiosity as a boundary condition for priming effects.