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

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 23 of the 23 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

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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Crossref · 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01649.x

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Kelley H.H., 1971, Attributions in social interaction
  2. Proulx T., Psychological Science

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Metadata

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
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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