Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 6, 2025
06:42
Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
12.0K
Prosociality and religion
Jo-Ann Tsang1, Rosemary L Al-Kire1, Juliette L Ratchford1
1Baylor University, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, One Bear Pl. #97334, Waco, TX, 76798-7334, United States.
Current Opinion in Psychology
|October 6, 2020
Summary
Religious individuals show limited prosociality, influenced by self-image threat and recipient need. Helping often favors ingroups, with mechanisms like supernatural monitoring playing a role.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Religious Studies
Background:
- Self-reports indicate universal prosociality among religious individuals.
- Behavioral measures and priming studies reveal more limited prosociality.
- Recent research identifies moderators influencing the religious prosociality link.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relationship between religiousness and prosocial behavior.
- To identify moderators and mechanisms influencing religious prosociality.
- To investigate the determinants of parochial versus universal religious helping.
Main Methods:
- Review of self-report, behavioral, and priming studies on religious prosociality.
- Analysis of moderating factors such as self-image threat and recipient need.
- Examination of ingroup favoritism in religious helping.
Main Results:
- Religious prosociality is more pronounced under self-image threat and when recipients are needier.
- Religiousness is often associated with ingroup favoritism over outgroups.
- Mechanisms include supernatural monitoring and moral identity; secular analogues exist.
Conclusions:
- Religious prosociality is complex and context-dependent, not universally applied.
- Understanding parochial versus universal religious helping is crucial for adaptive strategies.
- Further research is needed on the adaptive value of different helping patterns.
Related Concept Videos
01:55Egoism and Altruism
93.0K
Voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people is called prosocial behavior. Why do people help other people? Is personal benefit such as feeling good about oneself the only reason people help one another?
93.0K
01:03Altruism
42.1K
Altruistic behaviors are “unselfish” behaviors—those that help another individual at the expense of the individual carrying out the behavior. Despite the negative consequences for the altruistic animal, these behaviors are thought to have evolved for several reasons.
42.1K
01:30Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques VI
158
Adopting a healthier lifestyle often requires overcoming significant challenges, but leveraging psychological, social, and cultural resources can facilitate meaningful change. Effective self-change hinges on understanding and applying key tools such as motivation and goal setting, which help sustain efforts toward long-term health benefits.
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...
158
00:52Social Proof
31.3K
Social proof is a form of persuasion based on comparison and conformity. People compare their behavior and actions to what others are doing and will change to conform to do what their peers do.
31.3K
00:57Inclusive Fitness
36.9K
Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
36.9K
01:30Social Relationships and Well-Being
157
The significance of social relationships in psychological well-being is a well-established area of inquiry within social psychology. Research consistently demonstrates that the presence of meaningful, supportive relationships enhances emotional health, while the absence or deterioration of such connections can contribute to psychological distress. Relationships serve as a foundation for emotional support, identity, and social belonging, all of which are critical to an individual’s overall...
157