Cited by 598Paranormal Experiences and BeliefsFree Will and AgencySocial and Intergroup Psychology

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Compensatory Control: Achieving Order Through the Mind, Our Institutions, and the Heavens

Kay, Aaron C., Whitson, Jennifer A., Gaucher, Danielle, Galinsky, Adam D.·2009·Current Directions in Psychological Science

DOI 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01649.x

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Abstract

We propose that people protect the belief in a controlled, nonrandom world by imbuing their social, physical, and metaphysical environments with order and structure when their sense of personal control is threatened. We demonstrate that when personal control is threatened, people can preserve a sense of order by (a) perceiving patterns in noise or adhering to superstitions and conspiracies, (b) defending the legitimacy of the sociopolitical institutions that offer control, or (c) believing in an interventionist God. We also present evidence that these processes of compensatory control help people cope with the anxiety and discomfort that lacking personal control fuels, that it is lack of personal control specifically and not general threat or negativity that drives these processes, and that these various forms of compensatory control are ultimately substitutable for one another. Our model of compensatory control offers insight into a wide variety of phenomena, from prejudice to the idiosyncratic rituals of professional athletes to societal rituals around weddings, graduations, and funerals.

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Authors: Kay, A. C., Whitson, J. A., Gaucher, D., & Galinsky, A. D.
Affiliations: University of Waterloo (CA)
The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Northwestern University (US)
Corresponding author: Kay, Aaron C.
ORCID: Kay, Aaron C.
Whitson, Jennifer A.
Galinsky, Adam D.
Venue: Current Directions in Psychological Science
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2009-10
Volume: 18
Issue: 5
Pages: 264-268
ISSN: 0963-7214 (ISSN-L)
1467-8721
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01649.x
OpenAlex: W2153864281
Semantic Scholar: 47620e096cbb1181fa8ec2d0f7379e68622616b4
Cited by: 598
References: 22
Citations by year: 2026: 68 · 2025: 55 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 44 · 2021: 52 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 19
FWCI: 14.19
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Current Directions in Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Free Will and Agency
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Keywords: compensatory control, personal control, pattern perception, superstition, conspiracy beliefs, institutional legitimacy, anxiety, threats, coping, prejudice, ritual

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Compensatory Control: Achieving Order Through the Mind, Our Institutions, and the Heavens

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