The Cognitive Science of Religion

Cover
Half Title
Series
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Contributors
Student Introduction
Instructor's Introduction
	A Very Brief History of the Cognitive Science of Religion
	How to Read and Teach This.Volume
Chapter 1 Why Do We See Supernatural Signs In Natural Events?
	Introduction
	Methodology
		Playing the game
		A rigged system
		Introducing Princess Alice
	Results and Analysis
		Moving hands and changing minds
		Explaining the unexpected
	Discussion
Chapter 2 What Do We Think About God When We Aren’t Careful?
	Introduction
	Theory
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
		Studies 1.and 2
		Study 3
	Discussion
		Validity
		Implications
		Criticisms
		Suggestions for further studies
Chapter 3 What Do People Think Omniscient Agents Know?
	Introduction
	Hypotheses
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
Chapter 4 Do Children Attribute Beliefs to Humans and God Differently?
	Introduction
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
Chapter 5 Which God is Watching?
	Introduction
	Theory
		Ethnographic background: Yasawa, Fiji
		Religion in Yasawa: Christian “Bible God” and Kalou-vu
	Methodology
		Hypotheses and Predictions
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
		Implications and extensions
		Criticisms and limitations
	Conclusion
Chapter 6 Do People Think The Soul Is Separate From the Body and the Mind?
	Introduction
		The soul: Mentalistic or essential?
		Testing the theory
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
		Extending the theory
	Discussion
		Questioning intuitive dualism
		Culture and concept development
		Essential missteps
	Conclusion
Chapter 7 Were Early Chinese Thinkers Folk Dualists?
	Introduction
	Theory
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
		Follow-up studies
Chapter 8 How Do People Establish Personal Identity In Reincarnation?
	Introduction
		Personal identity
		Studies with Western participants
	Methodology
		Sample
		Participants, materials, and procedure
	Results and Analysis
		Study 1
		Study 2
		Statistical analyses: Comparing mean rank scores for physical features
		Statistical analyses: Comparing mean rank scores for memory features
		Participants’ concept of reincarnation
		Study 3
		Statistical analyses: Comparing mean rank scores
		Limitations
	Discussion
Chapter 9 Is Memory Crucial for Transmission of Religious Ideas?
	Introduction
		Ideas that spread like viruses
		Expectation violation and memory: Minimal counterintuitiveness
		The motivation behind the.study
	Methodology
	Results and Analyses
		Immediate memory recall
		Delayed recognition
	Discussion
		Significance of findings
Chapter 10 What Types of Concepts Make for Great Religious Stories?
	Introduction
		Memory for culture: The MCI hypothesis
	Methodology
		Subjects
		Materials
		Procedure
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
	Appendix: Example Stories
		Story 1.3: “Lost on a Dinghy”
		Story 1.9: “Robbers”
		Story 1.2: “Spring Day”
Chapter 11 How Do Religious Environments Affect Our Behavior?
	Introduction
		Setting
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
Chapter 12 Can We Model Religious Behavior Using Computer Simulation?
	Introduction
	Theoretical Background
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
		Criticisms/weaknesses
		Suggestions for further studies
Chapter 13 Does God Make You Good?
	Introduction
		The theoretical question: Why might God make us good?
		The methodological question: How can we test the hypothesis?
	Methodology
		Religious priming
		The Dictator Game
	Results and Analysis
		Additional study: A secular path
	Discussion
		Things I might now have done differently
	Conclusion and further reading
Chapter 14 Do We Outsource Police Work To god?
	Introduction
	Methodology
		Salience manipulation
		Third-party punishment game
		Procedure
	Results and Analysis
		Primary results
		Additional findings
		A final methodological note
	Discussion
Chapter 15 Do Religions Promote Cooperation? Testing Signaling Theories of Religion
	Introduction
		Signaling.theory
		Testing the theory
		The kibbutz revisited
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
		The phone call
		Subsequent kibbutz studies
	Conclusion
Chapter 16 Do Rituals Promote Social Cohesion?
	Introduction
		Setting
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
Chapter 17 Are Muslim Costly Signals Christian Caution Signals?
	Introduction
		Religion and group identity
		Religious costly signaling
		Theory
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
Chapter 18 Is Ritual Behavior a Response to Anxiety?
	Introduction
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
Chapter 19 Can Rituals Reduce Stress During War? The Magic of Psalms
	Introduction
	Of Pigeons, Piscivores, and Poker Players: The Uncertainty Hypothesis
	Psalms for Safety
		Methodology
	Of War and Worship
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
Chapter 20 Does Praying Resemble Normal Interpersonal Interaction?
	Introduction
		Theory
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
Chapter 21 How Are Rituals Thought to Work?
	Introduction
		Theory
		Superhuman agents: Agency required
		Types of ritual: Agency as a variable
		Predictions
	Methodology
	Results and Analysis
		Hinduism
		Judaism
		Islam
	Discussion
Chapter 22 How Do Humans Process Ritualized Actions?
	Introduction
		Theory
	Methodology
		Experiment 1: Segmentation of nonfunctional actions
		Experiment 2: Segmentation of goal-demoted actions
	Discussion
Chapter 23 Did Ritualized Human Sacrifice Help Build And Sustain Social Inequality?
	Introduction
	Methodology
		Sample
		Variables
		Cross-cultural studies and Galton’s Problem
		Phylogenetic comparative methods
		Hypotheses
	Results and Analysis
	Discussion
		Future research
	Conclusion
Notes
References
Index