Mentalizing skills do not differentiate believers from non-believers, but credibility enhancing displays do

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Version: author
Serval ID
serval:BIB_5490826FB64F
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Mentalizing skills do not differentiate believers from non-believers, but credibility enhancing displays do
Journal
PLOS ONE
Author(s)
Maij David. L. R., van Harreveld Frenk, Gervais Will, Schrag Yann, Mohr Christine, van Elk Michiel
ISSN
1932-6203
Publication state
Published
Issued date
23/08/2017
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
12
Number
8
Pages
e0182764
Language
english
Abstract
The ability to mentalize has been marked as an important cognitive mechanism enabling belief in supernatural agents. In five studies we cross-culturally investigated the relationship between mentalizing and belief in supernatural agents with large sample sizes (over 67,000 participants in total) and different operationalizations of mentalizing. The relative importance of mentalizing for endorsing supernatural beliefs was directly compared with credibility enhancing displays–the extent to which people observed credible religious acts during their upbringing. We also compared autistic with neurotypical adolescents. The empathy quotient and the autism-spectrum quotient were not predictive of belief in supernatural agents in all countries (i.e., The Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States), although we did observe a curvilinear effect in the United States. We further observed a strong influence of credibility enhancing displays on belief in supernatural agents. These findings highlight the importance of cultural learning for acquiring supernatural beliefs and ask for reconsiderations of the importance of mentalizing.
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
12/01/2018 12:13
Last modification date
20/08/2019 14:09
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