Why did this happen to me? Religious believers’ and non-believers’ teleological reasoning about life events

Banerjee, Konika; Bloom, Paul

doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2014.06.017

Cited by 129Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologyParanormal Experiences and BeliefsEvolution and Science Education

Why did this happen to me? Religious believers’ and non-believers’ teleological reasoning about life events

Banerjee, Konika, Bloom, Paul·2014·Cognition

DOI 10.1016/j.cognition.2014.06.017

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

People often believe that significant life events happen for a reason. In three studies, we examined evidence for the view that teleological beliefs reflect a general cognitive bias to view the world in terms of agency, purpose, and design. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that individual differences in mentalizing ability predicted both the tendency to believe in fate (Study 1) and to infer purposeful causes of one's own life events (Study 2). In addition, people's perception of purpose in life events was correlated with their teleological beliefs about nature, but this relationship was driven primarily by individuals' explicit religious and paranormal beliefs (Study 3). Across all three studies, we found that while people who believe in God hold stronger teleological beliefs than those who do not, there is nonetheless evidence of teleological beliefs among non-believers, confirming that the perception of purpose in life events does not rely on theistic belief. These findings suggest that the tendency to perceive design and purpose in life events-while moderated by theistic belief-is not solely a consequence of culturally transmitted religious ideas. Rather, this teleological bias has its roots in certain more general social propensities.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.cognition.2014.06.017

Cites

107 of 107 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

In many domains of everyday life people appeal to both natural and supernatural explanations, often integrating both types of explanation.
“in many domains of everyday life people appeal to both natural and supernatural explanations, often integrating both types of explanation.”
From The Challenge of Evolution to Religion (2019) · cites this paper as Banerjee and Bloom (2014)

Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/brm.40.3.879 · Cited by 34,117 · see citing works
The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism, Males and Females, Scientists and Mathematicians
Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1023/a:1005653411471 · Cited by 6,450 · cited 2× · see citing works
“, sex, age, and education) that have previously been shown to covary with mentalizing ability, belief in God, and supernatural belief more generally (e.g., Baron-Cohen & Wheelwright, 2004; Baron-Cohen et al., 2001; Irwin, 1993; Norenzayan et al., 2012; Stark, 2002; Wakabayashi et al., 2006; Walter & Davie, 1998; Willa…”
Cognitive Reflection and Decision Making
Frederick, S. (2005) · Journal of Economic Perspectives · doi:10.1257/089533005775196732 · Cited by 5,256 · see citing works
The Moral Judgment Of The Child
Piaget, J. (2013) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315009681 · Cited by 4,409 · see citing works
The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences
Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2004) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1023/b:jadd.0000022607.19833.00 · Cited by 4,093 · see citing works
The Belief in a Just World: A Fundamental Delusion.
Hamilton, V. L., & Lerner, M. J. (1982) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2067083 · Cited by 2,544 · see citing works
Infants selectively encode the goal object of an actor's reach
Woodward, A. L. (1998) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/s0010-0277(98)00058-4 · Cited by 1,977 · see citing works
Untitled work
(2004) · Cited by 1,588 · see citing works
Taking the intentional stance at 12 months of age
Gergely, G., Nádasdy, Z., Csibra, G., & Bı́ró, S. (1995) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/0010-0277(95)00661-h · Cited by 1,399 · see citing works
Cognitive Development: Foundational Theories Of Core Domains
Wellman, H. M., & Gelman, S. A. (1992) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.ps.43.020192.002005 · Cited by 961 · see citing works
The Social Sense: Susceptibility to Others’ Beliefs in Human Infants and Adults
Kovács, Á. M., Téglás, E., & Endress, A. D. (2010) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1190792 · Cited by 923 · see citing works
God and the government: Testing a compensatory control mechanism for the support of external systems
Kay, A. C., Gaucher, D., Napier, J. L., Callan, M. J., & Laurin, K. (2008) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.18 · Cited by 809 · see citing works
Descartes' baby: how the science of child development explains what makes us human
(2004) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.42-1874 · Cited by 789 · see citing works
Untitled work
(1993) · Cited by 775 · see citing works
Conceptualizing a Nonnatural Entity: Anthropomorphism in God Concepts
Barrett, J. L., & Keil, F. C. (1996) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1006/cogp.1996.0017 · Cited by 769 · see citing works
Causes and consequences of mind perception
Waytz, A., Gray, K., Epley, N., & Wegner, D. M. (2010) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2010.05.006 · Cited by 759 · see citing works
God help me: (I): Religious coping efforts as predictors of the outcomes to significant negative life events
Pargäment, K. I., Ensing, D. S., Falgout, K., Olsen, H., Reilly, B., Haitsma, K. S. V., & Warren, R. (1990) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1007/bf00938065 · Cited by 717 · see citing works
Paranoia and self-consciousness.
Fenigstein, A., & Vanable, P. (1992) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.62.1.129 · Cited by 643 · see citing works
Are Children “Intuitive Theists”?: Reasoning About Purpose and Design in Nature
Kelemen, D. (2004) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00672.x · Cited by 594 · see citing works
Analytic Thinking Promotes Religious Disbelief
Gervais, W. M., & Norenzayan, A. (2012) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1215647 · Cited by 589 · see citing works
Divine intuition: Cognitive style influences belief in God.
Shenhav, A., Rand, D. G., & Greene, J. D. (2012) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/a0025391 · Cited by 557 · see citing works
Analytic cognitive style predicts religious and paranormal belief
Pennycook, G., Cheyne, J. A., Seli, P., Koehler, D. J., & Fugelsang, J. A. (2012) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2012.03.003 · Cited by 544 · see citing works
A Revised Paranormal Belief Scale
Tobacyk, J. (2004) · International Journal of Transpersonal Studies · doi:10.24972/ijts.2004.23.1.94 · Cited by 524 · see citing works
The Construction and Validation of an Abridged Version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ-Short)
Hoekstra, R. A., Vinkhuyzen, A. A. E., Wheelwright, S., Bartels, M., Boomsma, D. I., Baron-Cohen, S., Posthuma, D., & van der Sluis, S. (2011) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1073-0 · Cited by 506 · see citing works
The scope of teleological thinking in preschool children
Kelemen, D. A. (1999) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/s0010-0277(99)00010-4 · Cited by 493 · see citing works
The Human Function Compunction: Teleological explanation in adults
Kelemen, D., & Rosset, E. (2009) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2009.01.001 · Cited by 480 · see citing works
Cognitive and Contextual Factors in the Emergence of Diverse Belief Systems: Creation versus Evolution
Evans, E. M. (2001) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1006/cogp.2001.0749 · Cited by 474 · see citing works
The folk psychology of souls
Bering, J. M. (2006) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x06009101 · Cited by 458 · see citing works
Paranoia and self-consciousness.
Fenigstein, A., & Vanable, P. A. (1992) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.62.1.129 · Cited by 448 · see citing works
Professional physical scientists display tenacious teleological tendencies: Purpose based reasoning as a cognitive default
Kelemen, D., Rottman, J., & Seston, R. (2013) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/a0030399 · Cited by 429 · see citing works
Physiology and Faith: Addressing the “Universal” Gender Difference in Religious Commitment
Stark, R. (2002) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.1111/1468-5906.00133 · Cited by 388 · see citing works
Religion is natural
Bloom, P. (2006) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00577.x · Cited by 388 · see citing works
Self-citation
Development of short forms of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-Short) and the Systemizing Quotient (SQ-Short)
Wakabayashi, A., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Goldenfeld, N., Delaney, J., Fine, D., Smith, R., & Weil, L. (2006) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2006.03.017 · Cited by 387 · see citing works
Social threat perception and the evolution of paranoia
Green, M. J., & Phillips, M. L. (2004) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2004.03.006 · Cited by 369 · see citing works
Qualitative differences between naïve and scientific theories of evolution
Shtulman, A. (2005) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.cogpsych.2005.10.001 · Cited by 367 · see citing works
Religious Belief as Compensatory Control
Kay, A. C., Gaucher, D. M., McGregor, I., & Nash, K. A. (2009) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868309353750 · Cited by 345 · see citing works
The Coexistence of Natural and Supernatural Explanations Across Cultures and Development
Legare, C. H., Evans, E. M., Rosengren, K. S., & Harris, P. L. (2012) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01743.x · Cited by 332 · see citing works
A General Attribution Theory for the Psychology of Religion
Spilka, B., Shaver, P. R., & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (1985) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1386272 · Cited by 322 · see citing works
The origins of religious disbelief
Norenzayan, A., & Gervais, W. M. (2013) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2012.11.006 · Cited by 320 · see citing works
Faces in the clouds: a new theory of religion
(1993) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.31-0378 · Cited by 305 · see citing works
Cognitive biases explain religious belief, paranormal belief, and belief in life’s purpose
Willard, A. K., & Norenzayan, A. (2013) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2013.07.016 · Cited by 300 · see citing works
Mentalizing Deficits Constrain Belief in a Personal God
Norenzayan, A., Gervais, W. M., & Trzesniewski, K. H. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0036880 · Cited by 297 · see citing works
Function, goals and intention: children’s teleological reasoning about objects
Kelemen, D. A. (1999) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(99)01402-3 · Cited by 290 · see citing works
A General Attribution Theory for the Psychology of Religion
Spilka, B., Shaver, P. R., & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2019) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780429495915-12 · Cited by 289 · see citing works
The Religiosity of Women in the Modern West
Walter, T., & Davie, G. (1998) · British Journal of Sociology · doi:10.2307/591293 · Cited by 280 · see citing works
The Existential Theory of Mind
Bering, J. M. (2002) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.1.3 · Cited by 269 · see citing works
Blaming God for our pain: Human suffering and the divine mind
Gray, K., & Wegner, D. M. (2010) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868309350299 · Cited by 267 · see citing works
It’s no accident: Our bias for intentional explanations
Rosset, E. (2008) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2008.07.001 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Intuitions About Origins: Purpose and Intelligent Design in Children's Reasoning About Nature
Kelemen, D. A., & DiYanni, C. J. (2005) · Journal of Cognition and Development · doi:10.1207/s15327647jcd0601_2 · Cited by 227 · see citing works
Bewitchment, Biology, or Both: The Co‐Existence of Natural and Supernatural Explanatory Frameworks Across Development
Legare, C. H., & Gelman, S. A. (2008) · Cognitive Science · doi:10.1080/03640210802066766 · Cited by 219 · see citing works
What triggers causal attributions? The impact of valence and subjective probability
Bohner, G., Bless, H., Schwarz, N., & Strack, F. (1988) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420180404 · Cited by 211 · see citing works
Childhood Origins of Adult Resistance to Science
Bloom, P., & Weisberg, D. S. (2007) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1133398 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Self-citation
Belief in the paranormal: A review of the empirical literature.
Irwin, H. J. (1993) · Cited by 209 · see citing works
Distortions of mind perception in psychopathology
Gray, K. J., Jenkins, A. C., Heberlein, A. S., & Wegner, D. M. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1015493108 · Cited by 206 · see citing works
The belief instinct: the psychology of souls, destiny, and the meaning of life
(2011) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.48-7213 · Cited by 205 · see citing works
Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Religion
McCutcheon, R. T., & Guthrie, S. E. (1994) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1386639 · Cited by 200 · cited 4× · see citing works
“People are prone to perceive illusory faces—in the clouds and in their food, for instance (Boyer, 2001; Guthrie, 1993; Riekki, Lindeman, Aleneff, Halme, & Nuortimo, 2013), to infer that ambiguous events have agentic causes (Gray & Wegner, 2010; Pepitone & Saffiotti, 1997; Weeks & Lupfer, 2000; Woolley et al.”
Influential
Theological Incorrectness
Slone, D. J. (2004) · doi:10.1093/0195169263.001.0001 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Procedural injustice at work, justice sensitivity, job satisfaction and psychosomatic well-being
Schmitt, M., & Dörfel, M. (1999) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-0992(199906)29:4 · Cited by 193 · see citing works
On the belief in God: Towards an understanding of the emotional substrates of compensatory control
Laurin, K., Kay, A. C., & Moscovitch, D. A. (2008) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2008.07.007 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
From what might have been to what must have been: Counterfactual thinking creates meaning.
Kray, L. J., George, L. G., Liljenquist, K. A., Galinsky, A. D., Tetlock, P. E., & Roese, N. J. (2010) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0017905 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
Randomness, Attributions of Arousal, and Belief in God
Kay, A. C., Moscovitch, D. A., & Laurin, K. (2010) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797609357750 · Cited by 170 · see citing works
THE CULTURAL TRANSMISSION OF FAITH Why innate intuitions are necessary, but insufficient, to explain religious belief
Gervais, W. M., Willard, A., Norenzayan, A., & Henrich, J. (2011) · Religion · doi:10.1080/0048721x.2011.604510 · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Anomalistic psychology: a study of magical thinking
(1990) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.27-4169 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Untitled work
(2000) · Human Biology · Cited by 147 · see citing works
The need to believe: a neuroscience account of religion as a motivated process
Inzlicht, M., Tullett, A. M., & Good, M. (2011) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2011.647849 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
British and American children's preferences for teleo-functional explanations of the natural world
Kelemen, D. A. (2003) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/s0010-0277(03)00024-6 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Why people are reluctant to tempt fate.
Risen, J. L., & Gilovich, T. (2008) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.2.293 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Negativity bias in attribution of external agency.
Morewedge, C. K. (2009) · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · doi:10.1037/a0016796 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
The separate roles of the reflective mind and involuntary inhibitory control in gatekeeping paranormal beliefs and the underlying intuitive confusions
Svedholm‐Häkkinen, A. M., & Lindeman, M. (2012) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.2012.02118.x · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Born believers: the science of children's religious belief
(2012) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.50-0568 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
The logic of university students' misunderstanding of natural selection
Greene, E. D. (1990) · Journal of Research in Science Teaching · doi:10.1002/tea.3660270907 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
General Attribution Theory for the Psychology of Religion: The Influence of Event-Character on Attributions to God
Spilka, B., & Schmidt, G. W. (1983) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1385771 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
It was meant to happen: Explaining cultural variations in fate attributions.
Ara Norenzayan, A., & Lee, A. (2010) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0019141 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Early understandings of the link between agents and order
Newman, G. E., Keil, F. C., Kuhlmeier, V. A., & Wynn, K. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0914056107 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
The connection between random sequences, everyday coincidences, and belief in the paranormal
Bressan, P. (2001) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.754 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Developmental Continuity in Teleo-Functional Explanation: Reasoning about Nature Among Romanian Romani Adults
Casler, K., & Kelemen, D. A. (2008) · Journal of Cognition and Development · doi:10.1080/15248370802248556 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
The Use of Secular and Religious Attributions to Explain Everyday Behavior
Lupfer, M. B., Brock, K. F., & DePaola, S. J. (1992) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1386858 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
“Meant to be”: how religious beliefs and cultural religiosity affect the implicit bias to think teleologically
Heywood, B. T., & Bering, J. M. (2013) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2013.782888 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Investing in Karma
Converse, B. A., Risen, J. L., & Carter, T. J. (2012) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797612437248 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Towards a cognitive theory of existential meaning
Bering, J. M. (2003) · New Ideas in Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0732-118x(03)00014-x · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Children's attributions of intentions to an invisible agent.
Bering, J. M., & Parker, B. D. (2006) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.2.253 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Paranormal and Religious Believers Are More Prone to Illusory Face Perception than Skeptics and Non‐believers
Riekki, T. J. J., Lindeman, M., Aleneff, M., Halme, A., & Nuortimo, A. (2012) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.2874 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Explaining Life-Altering Occurrences: A Test of the 'God-of-the-Gaps' Hypothesis
Lupfer, M. B., Tolliver, D., & Jackson, M. (1996) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1386413 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Who Explains Hurricane Katrina and the Chilean Earthquake as an Act of God? The Experience of Extreme Hardship Predicts Religious Meaning-Making
Stephens, N., Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H., & Hamedani, M. (2013) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022112454330 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
The selectivity of nonmaterial beliefs in interpreting life events
Pepitone, A., & Saffiotti, L. M. (1997) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-0992(199701)27:1 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Would Tarzan believe in God? Conditions for the emergence of religious belief
Banerjee, K., & Bloom, P. (2012) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2012.11.005 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Self-citation
Causal explanations of events by children and adults: Can alternative causal modes coexist in one mind?
Subbotsky, E. V. (2001) · British Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1348/026151001165949 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Religious Belief Systems of Persons with High Functioning Autism
Caldwell‐Harris, C. L., Murphy, C. F., Velazquez, T., & McNamara, P. (2011) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Teleological reasoning about nature: intentional design or relational perspectives?
ojalehto, B., Waxman, S. R., & Medin, D. L. (2013) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2013.02.006 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Between Religion and Science: Integrating Psychological and Philosophical Accounts of Explanatory Coexistence
Legare, C. H., & Visala, A. (2011) · Human Development · doi:10.1159/000329135 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Developmental Changes in the Use of Supernatural Explanations for Unusual Events
Woolley, J. D., Cornelius, C. A., & Lacy, W. (2011) · Journal of Cognition and Culture · doi:10.1163/156853711x591279 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Deity and Destiny
Young, M. J., Morris, M. W., Burrus, J. T., Krishnan, L., & Regmi, M. P. (2011) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022110381123 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Believing in the purpose of events—why does it occur, and is it supernatural?
Svedholm‐Häkkinen, A. M., Lindeman, M., & Lipsanen, J. O. (2009) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.1560 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
“Everything Happens for a Reason”: Children's Beliefs About Purpose in Life Events
Banerjee, K., & Bloom, P. (2014) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12312 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Self-citation
Born Believers: The Science of Children’s Religious Beliefs
Groothuis, D., & Evangelical Philosophical Society (2013) · Philosophia Christi · doi:10.5840/pc201315114 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Making Secular and Religious Attributions: The Availability Hypothesis Revisited
Lupfer, M. B., Paola, S. J. D., Brock, K. F., & Clement, L. (1994) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1386602 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Religious Attributions and Proximity of Influence: An Investigation of Direct Interventions and Distal Explanations
Weeks, M., & Lupfer, M. B. (2000) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.1111/0021-8294.00029 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Atheism is only skin deep: Geertz and Markusson rely mistakenly on sociodemographic data as meaningful indicators of underlying cognition
Bering, J. M. (2009) · Religion · doi:10.1016/j.religion.2009.11.001 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Is it just a brick wall or a sign from the universe? An fMRI study of supernatural believers and skeptics
Lindeman, M., Svedholm‐Häkkinen, A. M., Riekki, T. J. J., Raij, T. T., & Hari, R. (2012) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nss096 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
The Big ‘Whoops!’ in the Study of Intentional Behavior: An Appeal for a New Framework in Understanding Human Actions
Rosset, E., & Rottman, J. (2014) · Journal of Cognition and Culture · doi:10.1163/15685373-12342108 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“There Is No Such Thing as an Accident,” Especially When People Are Drunk
Bègue, L., Bushman, B. J., Giancola, P. R., Subra, B., & Rosset, E. (2010) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167210383044 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
A case of stunted development? Existential reasoning is contingent on a developing theory of mind
Evans, E. M., & Wellman, H. M. (2006) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x06319103 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Bering, J.: The belief instinct: the psychology of souls, destiny, and the meaning of life. New York: W.W. Norton, 2011, 252 páginas.
Bejarano, T. (2013) · Thémata: Revista de filosofía · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Cross-Cultural Preferences in Spatial Reasoning
Knauff, M., & Ragni, M. (2011) · Journal of Cognition and Culture · doi:10.1163/156853711x568662 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Existential Meanings and Cultural Models: The Interplay of Personal and Supernatural Agency in American and Hindu Ways of Responding to Uncertainty.
Young, M. J., & Morris, M. W. (2004) · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Is Weaker Inhibition Associated with Supernatural Beliefs?
Lindeman, M., Riekki, T. J. J., & Hood, B. M. (2011) · Journal of Cognition and Culture · doi:10.1163/156853711x570038 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Everything Happens for a Reason
Kirshenbaum, M. (2004) · Cited by 4 · see citing works

Flagged first, then by citations

Sorted by citations

Someone is pulling the strings: hypersensitive agency detection and belief in conspiracy theories
Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., Callan, M. J., Dawtry, R. J., & Harvey, A. J. (2016) · Thinking & Reasoning · doi:10.1080/13546783.2015.1051586 · Cited by 414 · see citing works
The cultural evolution of shamanism
Singh, M. (2017) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x17001893 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
Ontological confusions but not mentalizing abilities predict religious belief, paranormal belief, and belief in supernatural purpose
Lindeman, M., Svedholm‐Häkkinen, A. M., & Lipsanen, J. O. (2014) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2014.09.008 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
“Spiritual but not religious”: Cognition, schizotypy, and conversion in alternative beliefs
Willard, A. K., & Norenzayan, A. (2017) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2017.05.018 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Seeking the supernatural: the Interactive Religious Experience Model
Leeuwen, N. V., & van Elk, M. (2018) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2018.1453529 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Belief changes associated with psychedelic use
Nayak, S. M., Singh, M., Yaden, D. B., & Griffiths, R. R. (2022) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/02698811221131989 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Diverse Cognitive Profiles of Religious Believers and Nonbelievers
Lindeman, M., & Lipsanen, J. O. (2016) · International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1080/10508619.2015.1091695 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Cognitive flexibility and religious disbelief
Zmigrod, L., Rentfrow, P. J., Zmigrod, S., & Robbins, T. W. (2018) · Psychological Research · doi:10.1007/s00426-018-1034-3 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Is the bias for function-based explanations culturally universal? Children from China endorse teleological explanations of natural phenomena
Schachner, A., Zhu, L., Li, J., & Kelemen, D. A. (2017) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2016.12.006 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Why Divination?
Boyer, P. (2020) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/706879 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
The divided mind of a disbeliever: Intuitive beliefs about nature as purposefully created among different groups of non-religious adults
Järnefelt, E., Canfield, C. F., & Kelemen, D. (2015) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2015.02.005 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Cultural influences on the teleological stance: evidence from China
Rottman, J., Zhu, L., Wang, W., Schillaci, R. S., Clark, K. J., & Kelemen, D. A. (2016) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2015.1118402 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Parochial prosocial religions: Historical and contemporary evidence for a cultural evolutionary process
Norenzayan, A., Shariff, A. F., Gervais, W. M., Willard, A. K., McNamara, R. A., Slingerland, E., & Henrich, J. (2016) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x15000655 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Theodiversity
Norenzayan, A. (2015) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033426 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Belief in karma: How cultural evolution, cognition, and motivations shape belief in supernatural justice
White, C. J. M., & Norenzayan, A. (2019) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/bs.aesp.2019.03.001 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Teleological explanation and positive emotion serially mediate the effect of religion on well‐being
Ramsay, J. E., Tong, E. M. W., Chowdhury, A., & Ho, M. R. (2018) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/jopy.12425 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Supernatural Attributions: Seeing God, the Devil, Demons, Spirits, Fate, and Karma as Causes of Events
Exline, J. J., & Wilt, J. A. (2022) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-080921-081114 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
“Everything Happens for a Reason”: Children's Beliefs About Purpose in Life Events
Banerjee, K., & Bloom, P. (2014) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12312 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Self-citation
Religious Unbelief in Three Western European Countries: Identifying and Characterizing Unbeliever Types Using Latent Class Analysis
Lindeman, M., van Elk, M., Lipsanen, J. O., Marin, P., & Schjoedt, U. (2019) · International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1080/10508619.2019.1591140 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Initial evidence that non-clinical autistic traits are associated with lower income
Skylark, W. J., & Baron‐Cohen, S. (2017) · Molecular Autism · doi:10.1186/s13229-017-0179-z · Cited by 45 · see citing works
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
Rethinking Autism, Theism, and Atheism
Visuri, I. (2018) · Archive for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1163/15736121-12341348 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Prosocial religions as folk-technologies of mutual policing.
Fitouchi, L., Singh, M., André, J., & Baumard, N. (2025) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/rev0000531 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
The Challenge of Evolution to Religion
De Smedt, J., & De Cruz, H. (2019) · Cambridge University Press · doi:10.1017/9781108685436 · Cited by 33 · 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
In-depth examination of issues surrounding the reasons for child marriage in Kelantan, Malaysia: a qualitative study
Kohno, A., Dahlui, M., Farid, N. D. N., Ali, S. H., & Nakayama, T. (2019) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027377 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Examining the roles of intuition and gender in magical beliefs
Ward, S. J., & King, L. A. (2020) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2020.103956 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Science and religion: a rocky relationship shaped by shared psychological functions
Rutjens, B. T., & Preston, J. L. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-817204-9.00027-5 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Religion and human flourishing
Wormley, A. S., Vornlocher, C., Aglozo, E. Y., Jayawickreme, E., Johnson, K. A., Moon, J. W., Cappellen, P. V., Verma, A., & Cohen, A. B. (2023) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2023.2297208 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
In the name of God: How children and adults judge agents who act for religious versus secular reasons
Heiphetz, L., Spelke, E. S., & Young, L. (2015) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2015.07.017 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Religion, Evolution, and the Basis of Institutions: The Institutional Cognition Model of Religion
Wood, C., & Shaver, J. (2018) · Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture · doi:10.26613/esic.2.2.89 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
The impact of direct challenges to student endorsement of teleological reasoning on understanding and acceptance of natural selection: an exploratory study
Wingert, J. R., Bassett, G. M., Terry, C. E., & Lee, J. (2022) · Evolution Education and Outreach · doi:10.1186/s12052-022-00162-6 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
What are the causes and consequences of belief in karma?
White, C., Baimel, A., & Norenzayan, A. (2017) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2016.1249921 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
You get what you give: children's karmic bargaining
Banerjee, K., & Bloom, P. (2016) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/desc.12442 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Self-citation
It's the heart that matters: The relationships among cognitive mentalizing ability, emotional empathy, and religiosity
Łowicki, P., Zajenkowski, M., & Cappellen, P. V. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.109976 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
The Dr. John Hall story: a case study in putative “Haunted People Syndrome”
O’Keeffe, C., Houran, J., Houran, D. J., Dagnall, N., Drinkwater, K. G., Sheridan, L. P., & Laythe, B. R. (2019) · Mental Health Religion & Culture · doi:10.1080/13674676.2019.1674795 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Cognitive Science of Religion and the Study of Islam: Rethinking Islamic Theology, Law, Education, and Mysticism Using the Works of al-Ghazālī
Nakissa, A. (2020) · Method & Theory in the Study of Religion · doi:10.1163/15700682-12341474 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Why Divination?: Evolved Psychology and Strategic Interaction in the Production of Truth
Boyer, P. (2020) · Current Anthropology · Cited by 16 · see citing works
The Experience of Coincidence: An Integrated Psychological and Neurocognitive Perspective
van Elk, M., Friston, K. J., & Harold Bekkering, A. (2016) · The frontiers collection · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-26300-7_9 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Overlapping Mental Magisteria: Implications of Experimental Psychology for a Theory of Religious Belief as Misattribution
Galen, L. (2017) · Method & Theory in the Study of Religion · doi:10.1163/15700682-12341393 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Reasoning about nature’s agency and design in the cultural context of China
Järnefelt, E., Zhu, L., Canfield, C. F., Chen, M., & Kelemen, D. A. (2018) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2018.1449137 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Anthropocentric biases in teleological thinking: How nature seems designed for humans.
Preston, J. L., & Shin, F. (2020) · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · doi:10.1037/xge0000981 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
An agentive focus may limit learning about complex causality and systems dynamics: A study of seventh graders' explanations of ecosystems
Cuzzolino, M. P., Grotzer, T. A., Tutwiler, M. S., & Torres, E. (2019) · Journal of Research in Science Teaching · doi:10.1002/tea.21549 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Reasons Things Happen for a Reason: An Integrative Theory of Teleology
Scott, M. J. (2021) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691621995753 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
The causality implicit in traits
Kressel, L. M., & Uleman, J. S. (2014) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2014.11.005 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Teleology and the intentions of supernatural agents
Roberts, A., Wastell, C. A., & Polito, V. (2020) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2020.102905 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Religiosity and the formulation of causal attributions
Vonk, J. M., & Pitzen, J. (2015) · Thinking & Reasoning · doi:10.1080/13546783.2015.1073623 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
What Does the Cognitive Science of Religion Explain?
White, C. (2018) · New approaches to the scientific study of religion · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90239-5_3 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
DEBUNKING ARGUMENTS GAIN LITTLE FROM COGNITIVE SCIENCE OF RELIGION
Launonen, L. (2021) · Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science · doi:10.1111/zygo.12683 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“6 Another plausible theory concerns teleological reasoning, that is, our tendency to perceive purpose and design in nature and behind important life events (e.g., Kelemen and DiYanni 2005; Banerjee and Bloom 2014).”
Background
Making Sense: Meaning in Life in a Cognitive Context
Ward, S. J., & King, L. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-58763-9_22 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Purposes in law and in life: An experimental investigation of purpose attributionPreprint
Almeida, G., Knobe, J., Struchiner, N., & Hannikainen, I. R. (2021) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3929735 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Like Fire: The Paliau Movement and Millenarianism in Melanesia
Schwartz, T., & Smith, M. F. (2020) · ANU Press eBooks · doi:10.22459/lf.2021 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
The effects of religious views and creationism on teleological reasoning, acceptance and understanding of natural selection: a preliminary mixed-methods study
Wingert, J. R., Bassett, G. M., Terry, C. E., Cheng, K., & Lee, J. (2023) · Evolution Education and Outreach · doi:10.1186/s12052-023-00186-6 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Cross-Cultural Differences in the Influences of Spiritual and Religious Tendencies on Beliefs in Genetic Determinism and Family Health History Communication: A Teleological Approach
Hong, S. J. (2018) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0729-5 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Principles of moral accounting: How our intuitive moral sense balances rights and wrongs
Johnson, S. G. B., & Ahn, J. (2020) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104467 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
The Cognitive Science of Religion and Islamic Theology: An Analysis Based on the Works of al-Ghazālī
Nakissa, A. (2020) · Journal of the American Academy of Religion · doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfaa059 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Implicit pattern learning predicts individual differences in belief in God in the United States and Afghanistan
Weinberger, A. B., Gallagher, N. M., Warren, Z. J., English, G., Moghaddam, F. M., & Green, A. E. (2020) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18362-3 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Excessive teleological thinking is driven by aberrant associations and not by failure of reasoning
Ongchoco, J. D. K., Castiello, S., & Corlett, P. R. (2023) · iScience · doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107643 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Divine attributions, gift appraisals, and supernatural operating rules as predictors of gratitude to God
Exline, J. J., & Wilt, J. A. (2023) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2023.2208095 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Teleology beyond explanation
Joo, S., Yousif, S. R., & Knobe, J. (2021) · Mind & Language · doi:10.1111/mila.12393 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
How origin stories shape children’s social reasoning
Foster‐Hanson, E., & Rhodes, M. (2020) · Cognitive Development · doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.100962 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Cosmological Natural Selection and the Function of Life
Price, M. E. (2019) · Springer proceedings in complexity · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-00075-2_1 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Second Thoughts About Culture and Cause: Why and How Do the Chinese and Americans Differ in Causal Attributions?
Ge, X. (2025) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/10888683251333453 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Tell Me a Story
Black, J. E., Oberstein-Allen, M., & Barnes, J. (2019) · Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion · doi:10.1558/jcsr.37491 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Mental Disorder, Meaning-making, and Religious Cognition
Finley, K. (2022) · TheoLogica An International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology · doi:10.14428/thl.v7i1.64203 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
The role of faith in mental healthcare: Philosophy, psychology and practice
Foreman, D. M. (2017) · BJPsych Advances · doi:10.1192/apt.bp.116.016345 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Promiscuous Teleology: From Childhood Through Adulthood and from West to East
Kundert, C., & Edman, L. R. O. (2017) · New approaches to the scientific study of religion · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-62954-4_5 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Let us be careful with the evidence on mentalizing, cognitive biases, and religious beliefs
Lindeman, M., & Svedholm‐Häkkinen, A. M. (2016) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x15000485 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Cognitive Regeneration and the Noetic Effects of Sin: Why Theology and Cognitive Science May not be Compatible
Launonen, L. (2021) · European Journal for Philosophy of Religion · doi:10.24204/ejpr.2021.3398 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
The cognitive science of religion: past, present, and possible futures
White, C., Barrett, J. L., Boyer, P., Lawson, E. T., McCauley, R., & Whitehouse, H. (2025) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2025.2474404 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Beneath the Surface: A Critique of the Common Survey Model in the Study of Nonreligion
Järnefelt, E. (2020) · Secularism and Nonreligion · doi:10.5334/snr.106 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
God Belief as an Innate Aspect of Human Nature: A Response to John Shook and Questions for Justin Barrett
Exline, J. J., Bradley, D. F., Uzdavines, A., & Stauner, N. (2017) · Method & Theory in the Study of Religion · doi:10.1163/15700682-12341400 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
A TASTE FOR THE INFINITE: WHAT PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY CAN TELL US ABOUT RELIGIOUS BELIEF
Cruz, H. D. (2022) · Zygon® · doi:10.1111/zygo.12765 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Maximally Intuitive, Minimally Evidenced: Universal cognitive biases as the basis for supernatural beliefsPreprint
Willard, A. K., Turpin, H., & Baimel, A. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/aubem · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Cognitive Biases and Religious Belief: A path model replication in the Czech Republic and Slovakia with a focus on anthropomorphismPreprint
Willard, A. K., Cingl, L., & Norenzayan, A. (2018) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/cde63 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Cognitive pathways to belief in karma and belief in GodPreprint
White, C., Willard, A. K., Baimel, A., & Ara Norenzayan, A. (2020) · Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.31234/osf.io/39egn · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Belief changes associated with psychedelic usePreprint
Nayak, S. M., Singh, M., Yaden, D. B., & Griffiths, R. R. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/rdzmy · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Delusional Unreality and Predictive Processing
Castiello, S., Rossi-Goldthorpe, R. A., Fan, S., Kenney, J. G., Waltz, J. A., Erickson, M. A., Bansal, S., Gold, J. M., & Corlett, P. R. (2024) · Biological Psychiatry Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging · doi:10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.006 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Supernatural Attributions for Extraordinary Events: Examining Cognitive and Contextual Predictors
Wilt, J. A., Exline, J. J., & Stauner, N. (2024) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.1111/jssr.12933 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Big Gods , historical explanation, and the value of integrating the history of religion into the broader academy
Slingerland, E. (2015) · Religion · doi:10.1080/0048721x.2015.1073487 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Hume’sDialogues: a natural explanation of natural religion?
Lingier, H. (2021) · Bijdragen · doi:10.1080/21692327.2021.2014938 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Why Do Logically Incompatible Beliefs Seem Psychologically Compatible?
Shtulman, A., & Young, A. (2019) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203703809-11 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Supernatural belief in ‘scientific’ worldviews? Investigating science-oriented Finns’ explanations for origins, death and sufferingPreprint
Haimila, R., Metsähinen, H., & Sevalnev, M. (2022) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/5cwyv · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Bound to Share or Not to Care. The Force of Fate, Gods, Luck, Chance and Choice across Cultures
Berniûnas, R., Beinorius, A., Dranseika, V., Silius, V., & Rimkevičius, P. (2023) · Journal of Cognition and Culture · doi:10.1163/15685373-12340172 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Being prosocial and happy, and believing in life-determining forces across cultures
Berniûnas, R., Rimkevičius, P., Beinorius, A., Dranseika, V., & Silius, V. (2024) · Journal of Cultural Cognitive Science · doi:10.1007/s41809-023-00139-x · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Supernatural Belief in ‘Scientific’ Worldviews?
Haimila, R., Metsähinen, H., & Sevalnev, M. (2024) · Journal of Cognition and Culture · doi:10.1163/15685373-12340181 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The Relevance of God to Religious Believers and Non-Believers
Leite, Â. M. T., Vidal, D. G., Dinis, M. A. P., Sousa, H. F. P. E., & Dias, P. C. (2020) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel11040212 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
THE BOOST EFFECT: CAN A COVID-19 INFECTION INCREASE PERCEIVED MEANING IN LIFE?
Dahlén, M., & Thorbjørnsen, H. (2021) · Social Inquiry into Well-Being · doi:10.13165/sd-21-19-2-04 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The God of Big (And Good) Things: Religious Priming, Event Properties, and Supernatural Explanations
Ramsay, J. E., Khong, Z. Y., & Yeo, J. S. E. (2022) · International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1080/10508619.2022.2097778 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The Cognitive Underpinnings of Ideological Thinking
Zmigrod, L. (2019) · Apollo (University of Cambridge) · doi:10.17863/cam.44894 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
When Giving Justifies Gambling: Theory and Experimental Evidence on Prosocial Risk-takingPreprint
Ballicu, G., Atzori, F., & Pelligra, V. (2025) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.5350667 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Luck, fate, and fortune: the tychic properties
Hunt, M. W. (2024) · Philosophical Explorations · doi:10.1080/13869795.2024.2335221 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Primal world beliefs support substance use disorder recovery: Impact on recovery capital and spirituality
Bell, J. S., Clifton, J. D. W., Saquib, S., Ferrari, J. R., Snow‐Hill, N. L., & Jason, L. A. (2025) · Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community · doi:10.1080/10852352.2025.2552087 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Challenges to an Evolutionary Perspective on Religion
Beit‐Hallahmi, B. (2016) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199397747.013.25 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Universal Cognitive Biases as the Basis for Supernatural Beliefs
Willard, A. K., Turpin, H., & Baimel, A. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198869252.013.46 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Is intuitive teleological reasoning promiscuous?
Smedt, J. D., & Cruz, H. D. (2019) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781351141888-11 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The Consequences of Anthropomorphic and Teleological Beliefs in a Global Pandemic
Roberts, A., Handley, S. J., & Polito, V. (2024) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs14020146 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The Foundations of Shamanism and Witchcraft
Singh, M. (2020) · Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Lay Theories of Manipulation: Do Consumers Believe They are Susceptible to Marketers’ Trickery?Preprint
Khon, Z., Johnson, S. G. B., & Hang, H. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/8x63c · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The prosocial benefits of seeing purpose in life events: A case of cultural selection in action?
Banerjee, K. (2016) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x15000333
Self-citation

“Meant to be”: how religious beliefs and cultural religiosity affect the implicit bias to think teleologically
Heywood, B. T., & Bering, J. M. (2013) · Religion Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1080/2153599x.2013.782888 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Teleological Reasoning in Adults: Believing in the Purpose of Events
Guggenmos, C. J. (2012) · TopSCHOLAR (Western Kentucky University) · Cited by 4 · see citing works
The design stance, intentional stance, and teleological beliefs about biological and nonbiological natural entities.
Roberts, A., Handley, S. J., & Polito, V. (2021) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspp0000383 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Teleology and the intentional actions of supernatural agents
Roberts, A. (2018) · Figshare · doi:10.25949/19444211
Teleology and the intentions of supernatural agentsPreprint
Roberts, A., Wastell, C. A., & Polito, V. (2020) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/u8hgz · Cited by 5 · see citing works

Authors: Banerjee, K., & Bloom, P.
Affiliations: Yale University (US)
Corresponding author: Banerjee, Konika
ORCID: Bloom, Paul
Venue: Cognition
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2014-10
Volume: 133
Issue: 1
Pages: 277-303
ISSN: 0010-0277 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2014.06.017
OpenAlex: W2095563956
Cited by: 129
References: 106
Citations by year: 2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 3
FWCI: 11.92
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
www.elsevier.com/legal/tdmrep-license (tdm)
Locations: Cognition (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Science Foundation
Topics: Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Evolution and Science Education
Keywords: teleological reasoning, belief in fate, mentalization, religious beliefs, supernatural beliefs, non-believers, theistic belief, causal attribution, design perception
MeSH terms: Adult, Cognition, Culture, Female, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Religion and Psychology, Thinking, Theory of Mind

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Why did this happen to me? Religious believers’ and non-believers’ teleological reasoning about life events

Abstract

Integrity signals

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Cites

Cited by

Related

Record

About these checks