PSYC221 FINAL STUDY GUIDE 1 Religion and Mortality a Functions of religion i Terror Management Theory 1 Mortality salience anxiety distress a Knowing that we are going to die is a scary thought b When thoughts of death are prominent in a person s mind anxiety and distress increase 2 Promotes religiosity political 3 Promote people to be scared of death these variables 4 increase Increased belief in supernatural agents afterlife mind body distinctions 5 Belief in God vs Spirituality a Believing these things help people realize that their spirit will always live on forever even though their body will not be there ii Social identity 1 70 of Americans say religious identity is greater than social identity ethnic group Geography etc 2 Continuity certainty 3 Share beliefs and social connectivity 4 Ease to generate values influence judgments decisions 5 Mind perception and assessment a Fast judgments of others Halo Effect i Judge person based on religious beliefs b Thoughts and attitudes behavior i Lust fantasy and adultery action iii Group Level Norms 1 Binding morals and ethics a Promote in group cooperation altruism b Eliminate free rider problems c Keep authority structure in tact d Assist in mobilizing around common causes iv Formation and facilitation of large groups and common goals causes v Religion and coping 1 Universality of suffering and harm a Even innocent people i His sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust ii Buddhism 1st Noble Truth 1 All people inevitably suffer b Divine purpose isn t random c Belief in a just world 2 Cope with bad things happening to good people by understanding that even good people will suffer 3 When things go wrong a In group social support b God as a parental figure i personal relationship with God 1 Proximity seeking under stress threat 2 When under stress you run to parent significant other or a friend seek safety and support from God just as you would to someone you have a relationship with b Effects of religious beliefs and or belief in God i Reduced cheating dishonesty ii Coping and or social support from others in religious group or God iii Moralizing normative behavior 1 Association between social norms and suicide rates iv Competition conflict between groups and in group favoritism c Similarities between religious people and secular atheists i Moralizing normative behavior 1 Sex eating work 2 Moral weight assigned to these normal activities ii Religious vs secular people 1 More religious people a Less adultery more happiness iii Self control willpower 1 Experimental religious primes 2 People had more willpower and self control when primed with ideas of religion iv Lower rates of suicide in societies with ore social norms tighter societies 1 More causes values meaning governing day to day behavior they have more meaning in their day to day lives and less thoughts of suicidal behavior d Discrimination against atheists i Atheists are most distrusted least liked group by far 1 Don t think God is watching them so they can perform however they would like ii Distrust belief that God watching motivated to behave ethically 1 Leads to discrimination a Job hiring teachers day care need to be iii Atheism well trusted 1 Unity with humankind universe 2 Transcendence of time space a Especially with psychedelic drugs 3 Emotion elevation awe 4 Behavior rituals superstition holy ground 5 Cognition karma sacrelized ideals sell your soul a Get money for selling their soul at the bottom of the paper they say this is just for a psychological experiment not really going to take a person s soul but people are still not willing to sign the paper e Moral dumbfounding intuitiveness i Can t articulate cognitively what s going on ii Emotions drive moral judgments f Morality at two levels i Individual 1 Care vs harm 2 Fairness justice vs inequality 3 Had these things before religion was involved ii Group level mortality 1 Collective effervescence a Singing in Church burning man synchronized movements and chants In group loyalty patriotism 2 3 Authority respect parents police institutions 4 Purity sanctity sex food 5 These ideas have to do with religion g Five moral foundations i Differences for liberals conservatives 1 Liberals are more likely to agree with a Justice fairness and equality are the more important requirements for a society b Judgments and decisions i Whether or not someone was cruel ii Whether or not someone acted unfairly c Rhetoric prioritizes worldliness and human rights healthcare income equality 2 Conservatives are more likely to agree with a Loyalty to one s group is more important than one s individual concerns b Judgments and decisions i Whether or not someone acted in a way that God would approve of c Whether or not an action caused chaos or d Rhetoric prioritizes traditional American values disorder sex prayer flags 2 Political psychology a Change or lack thereof across the lifespan in ideology attitudes i Ideology affiliation attitudes 1 Modeling learning 2 Genetic correlations a Personality traits carry a genetic role b Model parent s behavior ii Personal life narratives 1 Liberals lessons involving empathy and harm 2 Tend to recall events from their childhood teaching authority iii Parenting styles attitudes 1 Authoritarian a Tend to grow up and be more conservative b Everything is rigid and strict 2 Permissive egalitarian a Tend to grow up and be more liberal b Things are more collaborative c More room for communication between parents and children 3 Remain when controlling for a General cognitive ability b SES i Socio economic status c Gender and ethnicity d Maternal sensitivity iv Change 1 Across lifespan very little change age 30 a By this age our beliefs are pretty much set 2 Major political events example 9 11 a Can change people s world views 3 Moving to a different geographic location a Attitudes will change depending on where a person lives 4 College a Change is not permanent 5 Change in political trust a Younger Americans tend to be more skeptical distrusting of authority rebellious i A little less responsible and less trusting ii As people get older and acquire more education they become socialized into the political world and trust increases iii Acquiring education and resources b Political social comparison i Donkeys elephants or sheep 1 Sheep conforming to the group 2 People vote on partisan group lines regardless if it conflicts with ideology 3 Example a Welfare policy i Ask if
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