Cognitive flexibility and religious disbelief.
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Publication Date
2019-11Journal Title
Psychological research
ISSN
0340-0727
Publisher
Springer Nature
Volume
83
Issue
8
Pages
1749-1759
Language
eng
Type
Article
Physical Medium
Print-Electronic
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Zmigrod, L., Rentfrow, P., Zmigrod, S., & Robbins, T. (2019). Cognitive flexibility and religious disbelief.. Psychological research, 83 (8), 1749-1759. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-018-1034-3
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility is operationalized in the neuropsychological literature as the ability to shift between modes of thinking and adapt to novel or changing environments. Religious belief systems consist of strict rules and rituals that offer adherents certainty, consistency, and stability. Consequently, we hypothesized that religious adherence and practice of repetitive religious rituals may be related to the persistence versus flexibility of one’s cognition. The present study investigated the extent to which tendencies towards cognitive flexibility versus persistence are related to three facets of religious life: religious affiliation, religious practice, and religious upbringing. In a large sample (N=744), we found that religious disbelief was related to cognitive flexibility across three independent behavioural measures: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Remote Associates Test, and Alternative Uses Test. Furthermore, lower frequency of religious service attendance was related to cognitive flexibility. When analysing participants’ religious upbringing in relation to their current religious affiliation, it was manifest that current affiliation was more influential than religious upbringing in all the measured facets of cognitive flexibility. The findings indicate that religious affiliation and engagement may shape and be shaped by cognitive control styles towards flexibility versus persistence, highlighting the tight links between flexibility of thought and religious ideologies.
Keywords
Humans, Cognition, Thinking, Attention, Religion, Adult, Female, Male, Young Adult, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Recognition, Psychology
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-018-1034-3
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/282791