Karma or Immortality: Can Religion Influence Space-Time Mappings?

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Cultural Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Cultural attitudes shape implicit associations between time and space.
• The temporal focus hypothesis (TFH) links future-orientation with future-in-front mapping and past-orientation with past-in-front mapping.
• Religion, a significant cultural component, may further influence these space-time mappings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the specific influence of religion on implicit space-time mappings.
• To examine how religious beliefs and practices affect temporal focus and its spatial representation.

Main Methods:

• Cross-cultural comparisons between Buddhist and Taoist participants on time-space conceptualizations.
• Experimental manipulation using religious imagery (Buddhas of the Past and Future) as primes.
• Replication of findings in atheists to confirm the causal role of religion.

Main Results:

• Buddhists showed a past-focus, conceptualizing the past as 'in front,' while Taoists exhibited a future-focus with the opposite mapping.
• Visualizing Buddha Dipamkara (Past) increased past-in-front responses; visualizing Buddha Maitreya (Future) increased future-in-front responses.
• The causal effect of religion on implicit space-time mappings was confirmed, even in atheists.

Conclusions:

• Religious affiliation and priming significantly influence individuals' implicit conceptualization of time and space.
• Findings support the causal role of religion in shaping temporal focus and its spatial embodiment.
• This research highlights the intricate relationship between culture, religion, and cognitive representations of time.