Location, Location, Location: Effects of Cross-Religious Primes on Prosocial Behavior

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Dimitris Xygalatas
  • Eva Kundtová Klocová
  • Jakub Cigán
  • Radek Kundt
  • Peter Maňo
  • Silvie Kotherová
  • Panagiotis Mitkidis
  • Sebastian Wallot
  • Martin Kanovsky

Priming with religious concepts is known to have a positive effect on prosocial behavior; however, the effects of religious primes associated with outgroups remain unknown. To explore this, we conducted a field experiment in a multicultural, multireligious setting (the island of Mauritius). Our design used naturally occurring, ecologically relevant contextual primes pertinent to everyday religious and secular life while maintaining full experimental control. We found that both ingroup and outgroup religious contexts increased generosity as measured by a donation task. In accordance with previous research, we also found an interaction between individual religiosity and the efficacy of the religious primes. We discuss these findings and their interpretation, and we suggest potential avenues for further research.

Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal for the Psychology of Religion
Volume26
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)304-319
Number of pages16
ISSN1050-8619
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.10.2016
Externally publishedYes