Committee Chair

Hood, Ralph W., Jr., 1942-

Committee Member

Biderman, Michael D.; Ross, David F.

Department

Dept. of Psychology

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

A host of research has shown that those who are nonreligious tend to outscore those who are religious on measures of intelligence and cognitive reflection. The prevailing explanation for this phenomenon is that nonreligious people are more adept at overriding their initial intuitions, thus leading to their increased skepticism of intuitive supernatural beliefs. However, the argument is raised in this investigation that the current measures of cognitive reflection in the field may not encapsulate the totality of dual-process thinking. Just as math students outperform upper-level psychology students on measures of cognitive reflection related to their discipline (Study 1), so, too, may religious individuals outperform nonreligious individuals on measures of cognitive reflection relating to their discipline of familiarity: religion (Study 2). While support for this second hypothesis was wanting, special considerations should be given to find measures of cognitive reflection that appeal to the unique experiences of specific groups in question.

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

5-2018

Subject

Psychology and religion; Psychology, Religious.

Keyword

Cognitive reflection; Dual-process theory; Religion

Discipline

Psychology

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

xiii, 128 leaves

Language

English

Rights

https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

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Psychology Commons

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