The Motivational Underpinnings of Belief in God

Laurin, Kristin; Kay, Aaron C.

doi:10.1016/bs.aesp.2017.02.004

Cited by 39Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologySocial and Intergroup PsychologyStudy and Philosophy of Religion

The Motivational Underpinnings of Belief in God

Laurin, Kristin, Kay, Aaron C.·2017·Advances in Experimental Social Psychology

DOI 10.1016/bs.aesp.2017.02.004

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Personal justice motives likely contribute to the enduring plausibility of supernatural beliefs, which contributes to their spread alongside additional group-level benefits as karmic beliefs also encourage people to behave less selfishly and more generously towards others.
“These personal justice motives likely contribute to the enduring plausibility of these supernatural beliefs, which contributes to their spread alongside additional group-level benefits as karmic beliefs also encourage people to behave less selfishly and more generously towards others, in order to garner karmic rewards for themselves (Fitouchi & Singh, 2022;Laurin & Kay, 2017).”
From Victim blaming and belief in karma (2024) · cites this paper as Laurin & Kay, 2017

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Belief in an afterlife, spiritual well-being and end-of-life despair in patients with advanced cancer
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Terror management theory of self-esteem.
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The Psychology of the Psychic
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Body and Mind in Early China: An Integrated Humanities–Science Approach
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Loss of Control Increases Belief in Precognition and Belief in Precognition Increases Control
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Step by Step
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Attitudes Towards Science
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The need for meaning and religiosity: An individual differences approach to assessing existential needs and the relation with religious commitment, beliefs, and experiences
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The Content and Correlates of Belief in Karma Across Cultures
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When Post Hoc Explanation Knocks: Consumer Responses to Explainable AI Recommendations
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Belief in karma: How cultural evolution, cognition, and motivations shape belief in supernatural justice
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Thinking about God increases acceptance of artificial intelligence in decision-making
Karataş, M., & Cutright, K. M. (2023) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2218961120 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Science demands explanation, religion tolerates mystery
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When and why does belief in a controlling God strengthen goal commitment?
Landau, M. J., Khenfer, J., Keefer, L. A., Swanson, T., & Kay, A. C. (2017) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2017.11.012 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Self-citation
Cognitive Pathways to Belief in Karma and Belief in God
White, C., Willard, A. K., Baimel, A., & Ara Norenzayan, A. (2021) · Cognitive Science · doi:10.1111/cogs.12935 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Cognitive Biases and Religious Belief: A Path Model Replication in the Czech Republic and Slovakia With a Focus on Anthropomorphism
Willard, A. K., Cingl, L., & Norenzayan, A. (2019) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/1948550619841629 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Science and religion: a rocky relationship shaped by shared psychological functions
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Karma and God: Convergent and divergent mental representations of supernatural norm enforcement.
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The Significance of Religious Tolerance for University Students: Its Influence on Religious Beliefs and Happiness
Zuhdiyah, Z., Darmayanti, K. K. H., & Khodijah, N. (2023) · Islamic Guidance and Counseling Journal · doi:10.25217/igcj.v6i1.3551 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Truth and significance: a 3N model (needs, narratives, networks) perspective on religion
Szumowska, E., Czernatowicz-Kukuczka, A., Kossowska, M., Król, S., & Kruglanski, A. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-817204-9.00017-2 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Existential uncertainty and religion
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Self-citation
Belief in divine moral authority satisfies the psychological need for structure and increases in the face of perceived injustice
Stanley, M. L., & Kay, A. C. (2022) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104302 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citation
Attitudes towards science
(2017) · OECD economic surveys. Austria · doi:10.1787/eco_surveys-aut-2017-graph59-en · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Seeking Structure in Collections: Desire for Control Motivates Engagement in Collecting
Cao, C. C., Brucks, M. L., & Reimann, M. (2024) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1093/jcr/ucae071 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Dare to know! The existential costs of a faith in science
Folk, D. P., Rutjens, B. T., van Elk, M., & Heine, S. J. (2024) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2024.2314294 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
The Case for Heterogeneity in Metacognitive Appraisals of Biased Beliefs
Cusimano, C. (2024) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/10888683241251520 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
The ego dampening influence of religion: evidence from behavioral genetics and psychology
Sasaki, J. Y., & Kim, H. S. (2020) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.08.007 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Victim blaming and belief in karma
White, C. J. M., & Willard, A. K. (2024) · Asian Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/ajsp.12654 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Do reminders of God increase willingness to take risks?
White, C., Dean, C., & Laurin, K. (2023) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104539 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Self-citation
Personal experience or cultural tradition: the difference between Christian identity in the Netherlands and Denmark
Storm, I., Rutjens, B. T., & van Harreveld, F. (2019) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2019.1628100 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
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Authors: Laurin, K., & Kay, A. C.
Affiliations: University of British Columbia (CA)
Duke University (US)
Corresponding author: Kay, Aaron C.
ORCID: Laurin, Kristin
Kay, Aaron C.
Venue: Advances in Experimental Social Psychology
Publisher: Elsevier
Published: 2017
Pages: 201-257
ISSN: 0065-2601 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/bs.aesp.2017.02.004
OpenAlex: W2604551361
Cited by: 38
References: 212
Citations by year: 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4
FWCI: 21.23
Type: book chapter
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations: Advances in experimental social psychology (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Study and Philosophy of Religion
Keywords: belief in God, motivated beliefs, need for structure, evolution of religious belief

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The Motivational Underpinnings of Belief in God

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