[Hac-announce] Thinking style explains variations in belief in God according to recent studies

[Thomas Platt]

The correlation is fascinating enough.  It's too bad the authors  
didn't give a more balanced discussion of what they felt the possible  
reasons for it might have been.  An even more extreme bias in  
interpretation is connected with the fact that, not infrequently  
fossils of multiple individuals of the same species of predatory  
dinosaur have been found in association with one, usually large, prey  
animal.  "Oh, these dinos were hunting in a coordinated pack!" is a  
popular interpretation.  In fact there could be multiple reasons for  
such gathering behavior.  Don't forget, flies tend to swarm around s_  
_ _.

	Tom (waiting for the paper to come out on genuine intuition)

On Sep 25, 2011, at 10:43 AM, David E Schafer wrote:

Post hoc isn't necessarily propter hoc.  What we have here is a  
correlation.
Maybe in some sense belief in gods causes a more "intuitive" approach.

Here's what I mean:  Take the baseball and bat problem.  Anybody who has
been taught analytical math/algebra would/should get the right  
answer.  So
experience counts here.  By the same token, in a culture that assumes  
the
existence of god(s) people are educated/trained to think first in those
terms.  Habits ingrained by culture/environment are not the same  
thing as
genuine intuition, innate thoughts.

David


----- Original Message -----
From: "Manny Ratafia" <manny at ratafias.com>
To: <hac-announce at cthumanist.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2011 10:03 AM
Subject: [Hac-announce] Thinking style explains variations in belief  
in God
according to recent studies


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110920121615.htm


Science News
  Blog    Cite
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in God
ScienceDaily (Sep. 20, 2011) - Intuition may lead people toward a  
belief in
the divine and help explain why some people have more faith in God than
others, according to research published by the American Psychological
Association.

In a series of studies, researchers at Harvard University found that  
people
with a more intuitive thinking style tend to have stronger beliefs in  
God
than those with a more reflective style. Intuitive thinking means  
going with
one's first instinct and reaching decisions quickly based on automatic
cognitive processes. Reflective thinking involves the questioning of  
first
instinct and consideration of other possibilities, thus allowing for
counterintuitive decisions.
"We wanted to explain variations in belief in God in terms of more basic
cognitive processes," researcher Amitai Shenhav said. "Some say we  
believe
in God because our intuitions about how and why things happen lead us  
to see
a divine purpose behind ordinary events that don't have obvious human
causes. This led us to ask whether the strength of an individual's  
beliefs
is influenced by how much they trust their natural intuitions versus
stopping to reflect on those first instincts."

The research was published online in the Journal of Experimental  
Psychology:
General. The study from the Harvard University Psychology Department was
conducted by Shenhav, a doctoral student; post-doctoral fellow David  
Rand,
PhD; and associate professor Joshua Greene, PhD.

In the first part of the study, 882 U.S. adults, with a mean age of  
33 and
consisting of 64 percent women, completed online surveys about their  
belief
in God before taking a cognitive reflection test. The test had three  
math
problems with incorrect answers that seemed intuitive. For example, one
question stated: "A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1
more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?" The automatic or  
intuitive
answer is 10 cents, but the correct answer is 5 cents. Participants  
who had
more incorrect answers showed a greater reliance on intuition than
reflection in their thinking style.

Participants who gave intuitive answers to all three problems were 1  
½ times
as likely to report they were convinced of God's existence as those who
answered all of the questions correctly. That pattern was found  
regardless
of other demographic factors, such as the participants' political  
beliefs,
education or income. "How people think -- or fail to think -- about the
prices of bats and balls is reflected in their thinking, and ultimately
their convictions, about the metaphysical order of the universe," the
journal article stated.

Participants with an intuitive thinking style also were more likely  
to have
become more confident believers in God over their lifetimes,  
regardless of
whether they had a religious upbringing. Individuals with a  
reflective style
tended to become less confident in their belief in God. The study  
also found
that this pronounced link between differing thinking styles and  
levels of
faith could not be explained by differences in the participants'  
thinking
ability or IQ. "Basic ways of thinking about problem solving in your
everyday life are predictive of how much you believe in God," Rand said.
"It's not that one way is better than the other. Intuitions are  
important
and reflection is important, and you want some balance of the two.  
Where you
are on that spectrum affects how you come out in terms of belief in  
God."

In another study, with 373 participants, the researchers found they  
could
temporarily influence levels of faith by instructing participants to  
write a
paragraph describing a personal experience where either intuitive or
reflective thinking led to a good result. One group was told to  
describe a
time in their lives when intuition or first instinct led to a good  
outcome,
while a second group was instructed to write about an experience where a
good outcome resulted from reflecting and carefully reasoning through a
problem. When they were surveyed about their beliefs after the writing
exercise, participants who wrote about a successful intuitive experience
were more likely to report they were convinced of God's existence  
than those
who wrote about a successful reflective experience.

These studies suggest a causal link between intuitive thinking and a  
belief
in God, but the researchers acknowledged the opposite may also be  
true, that
a belief in God may lead to intuitive thinking. Future research will  
help
explore how cognitive styles are influenced by genes and environmental
factors, such as upbringing and education, Rand said.

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Story Source:

   The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by  
ScienceDaily
staff) from materials provided by American Psychological Association,  
via
EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
--------

Journal Reference:

   1.. Amitai Shenhav, David G. Rand, and Joshua D. Greene. Divine  
Intuition:
Cognitive Style Influences Belief in God. Journal of Experimental
Psychology: General, 2011
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may influence belief in God. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 25, 2011,
from http://www.sciencedaily.com  /releases/2011/09/110920121615.htm
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