An Examination of the Effects of Religious Orientation on Personality (Part 3)
Ok so I wrote this really good research paper that expands on the ideas I presented in an earlier paper which is posted here and titled A Critque of Allport's Mature Religion. For ease of reading I am breaking the paper into multiple sections so the rest will be coming.
If you want more please comment and tell me how ethusiatic you are about getting the rest of this very interesting paper!
Correlations Between Religious Orientation and Personality
Elizabeth Egan, Jerome Kroll, Kathleen Carey, Myles Johnson, and Paul Erickson published their findings in 2004 as the Eysenck Personality Scales and Religiosity in a US Outpatient Sample. Through their analysis they concluded that those who scored high on the extrinsic scale also scored high on personality traits associated with neuroticism, schizotypicism as well as scoring high on the social desirability scale (Egan pg. 1026). They also found “that mental health states such as depression or demoralization may mediate relationships between personality traits and personal beliefs” (Egan pg. 1030).
In 2001 Adam Cohen and Paul Rozin demonstrated in Religion and the Morality of Mentality “differences in moral judgment were partially mediated by Protestants’ beliefs that mental states were controllable and likely to lead to action and were strongly related to agreement with general statements claiming that thoughts are morally relevant” (Cohen pg. 697). Their study examined the differences in the way followers of Judaism and those who professed Protestant religious beliefs perceived their thoughts and actions as either moral or immoral and the level of controllability associated with such thoughts. Their conclusions were incredibly important to the field of religion and psychology in that it demonstrated that the impressions amongst those who claim to be religious often had a large influence in their perception of what was moral and what was deemed to be immoral this also showed strong correlations and support for the idea that some who claim a strong affiliation to a Protestant religious group are often subject to negative personality traits, feelings of guilt and anxiety in that they feel their ideas and thoughts are just as bad as the actual actions regardless of whether or not the thoughts are acted on.
In a short article titled Psychoticism and Attitude to Religion (1981) William Kay reported that the “negative correlation between Psychoticism and attitude to religion (Christianity) is very evident among boys in the 11-15 age range” (Kay pg. 251). He noted that this relationship was less marked in girls of the same age but said this may be because of the inhibitions created by culture, a misinterpretation of the items and a penchant for socially desirable responses. In a similar article Religiosity, Psychoticism, and Schizotypal Traits published in 1995 by Josephine White, Stephen Joseph and Alastair Neil hypothesized that a more positive view of religion would result in lower psychoticism and schizotypal scores on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Their findings suggested that religiosity may even need to be considered as its own aspect of personality questionnaires as many of the ideas presented within religious dogma are associated with delusions that are represented in the psychoticism and schizotypal subscales. They explained that this could be a large factor in the consistency of results linking specific religious orientations with negative personality traits (White pg. 850).
The most recent and inclusive study on religious orientation and personality was published in 2004 by Peter Hills, Leslie Francis, Michael Argyle, and Chris Jackson. Primary Personality Trait Correlates of Religious Practice and Orientation thoroughly examined the correlations between personality traits and religious orientation. Correlating Eysenck’s primary personality factors and the Batson and Schoenrade Religious Life Inventory, important distinctions regarding the nature of religious awareness and personality were drawn. Validation was made that guilt and feelings of neurosis and anxiety are directly indicative of extrinsic or quest religious orientation. They showed that almost every factor associated with high levels of neuroticism were positively correlated with an extrinsic or quest religious orientation while negatively correlated with intrinsic orientation. Furthermore there was a negative correlation demonstrated between almost every aspect of psychoticism and intrinsic orientation. The correlation between Psychoticism, quest and extrinsic orientation was not overtly statistically significant however the findings were still relevant in demonstrating a slight negative correlation. (Hills pg. 68). Those who scored high on the extrinsic scale also showed lower levels of empathy and responsibility. Their study also showed that the three aspects of religious orientation examined showed distinct differences between each other. Intrinsic orientations demonstrated the most variance while quest and extrinsic orientations showed almost identical results in their correlation with personality traits (Hills pg. 70). They concluded that religious orientation is also highly associated with some form of personality factor that is not represented in any of the tests they conducted “or that spiritual awareness is itself an individual personality difference that is missing from most traditional models” (Hills pg. 71).
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
An Examination of the Effects of Religious Orientation on Personality (Part 2)
An Examination of the Effects of Religious Orientation on Personality (Part 2)
Ok so I wrote this really good research paper that expands on the ideas I presented in an earlier paper which is posted here and titled A Critque of Allport's Mature Religion. For ease of reading I am breaking the paper into multiple sections so the rest will be coming.
If you want more please comment and tell me how ethusiatic you are about getting the rest of this very interesting paper!
History and Development of Scales
Earlier studies on religion and psychology were based largely on introspection and there was no way to empirically validate the ideas presented by Freud, Jung, James, and Pratt who all addressed the idea of religion correlating with psychology. It was not until 1950 when Gordon Allport published his work, “The Individual and His Religion” that any correlations between religious orientation and psychology could be examined in an empirical fashion. This is the foundation of much of today’s research on religion and psychology. Allport concluded that individuals could be religious in different ways and that these different orientations could have an effect on psychological traits (Allport 1950). Most notably Allport defined the differences between religious orientations as mature and immature and began the ground work for the classification of both as well as the correlations to professed religious orientation and actual orientation.
In 1967 Allport and J. Michael Ross conducted a study Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice. This study further examined the correlation between religion and personality explaining a distinct curvilinear relationship between immature religion and high rates of prejudice levels amongst those who professed a devout nature in their religious orientation. Those who were mature in their religiosity were less likely to maintain prejudice as well as experiencing guilt and anxiety symptoms at a lower rate. Their work defined the extrinsic motivation as having instrumental and utilitarian values while the intrinsic orientation holds values in which their needs are of less significance allowing for harmony and internalization of religious beliefs. (Allport pg. 434). Their research led to the development of the first combined extrinsic-intrinsic scale of religious orientation, and opened the doors for the future of research in religion and psychology.
In 1983 Richard Gorsuch and G. Daniel Venable published the Development of an ‘Age Universal’ I-E Scale. This study expanded on Allport's theories and developed an Age Universal I-E scale by using “the original Allport and Ross (1967) items . . . rewritten to simplify language as much as possible without changing the basic content” (Gorsuch pg. 182). “I” denotes intrinsic or mature and “E” denotes extrinsic or immature religious orientation. The researchers set out to, and succeeded in, creating a reliable and valid age universal scale that can be used with children (above 11 years old) and adults, furthering the possibilities of research in the field, especially as it pertained to children. They noted that a trend had occurred moving the emphasis away from religious behavior to the “motivation behind that behavior” (Gorsuch pg. 186).
Peter Hills, Leslie Francis and Mandy Robbins published The Development of the Revised Religious Life Inventory (RLI-R) by Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis in 2005. This study was an effort to further the empirical data collection of religious orientation. They examined the data collected in order to further “explore the structure of the RLI with a substantial cross-denominational sample . . . [and] examine the statistical associations among the extrinsic, intrinsic and quest orientations of religiosity” (Hills pg. 1391). Their study eliminated numerous items from the extrinsic and quest portions of the test because they did not add any validity and in contrast hindered the accuracy of the subscales. Their study also showed that the original “three-factor scale of Batson and Ventis (1982) . . . did not meet any of the minimum fit requirements for satisfactory model” (Hills pg. 1396). They effectively whittled down the original 32 item scale to a 26 item scale which resulted in better statistical reliability.
Ok so I wrote this really good research paper that expands on the ideas I presented in an earlier paper which is posted here and titled A Critque of Allport's Mature Religion. For ease of reading I am breaking the paper into multiple sections so the rest will be coming.
If you want more please comment and tell me how ethusiatic you are about getting the rest of this very interesting paper!
History and Development of Scales
Earlier studies on religion and psychology were based largely on introspection and there was no way to empirically validate the ideas presented by Freud, Jung, James, and Pratt who all addressed the idea of religion correlating with psychology. It was not until 1950 when Gordon Allport published his work, “The Individual and His Religion” that any correlations between religious orientation and psychology could be examined in an empirical fashion. This is the foundation of much of today’s research on religion and psychology. Allport concluded that individuals could be religious in different ways and that these different orientations could have an effect on psychological traits (Allport 1950). Most notably Allport defined the differences between religious orientations as mature and immature and began the ground work for the classification of both as well as the correlations to professed religious orientation and actual orientation.
In 1967 Allport and J. Michael Ross conducted a study Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice. This study further examined the correlation between religion and personality explaining a distinct curvilinear relationship between immature religion and high rates of prejudice levels amongst those who professed a devout nature in their religious orientation. Those who were mature in their religiosity were less likely to maintain prejudice as well as experiencing guilt and anxiety symptoms at a lower rate. Their work defined the extrinsic motivation as having instrumental and utilitarian values while the intrinsic orientation holds values in which their needs are of less significance allowing for harmony and internalization of religious beliefs. (Allport pg. 434). Their research led to the development of the first combined extrinsic-intrinsic scale of religious orientation, and opened the doors for the future of research in religion and psychology.
In 1983 Richard Gorsuch and G. Daniel Venable published the Development of an ‘Age Universal’ I-E Scale. This study expanded on Allport's theories and developed an Age Universal I-E scale by using “the original Allport and Ross (1967) items . . . rewritten to simplify language as much as possible without changing the basic content” (Gorsuch pg. 182). “I” denotes intrinsic or mature and “E” denotes extrinsic or immature religious orientation. The researchers set out to, and succeeded in, creating a reliable and valid age universal scale that can be used with children (above 11 years old) and adults, furthering the possibilities of research in the field, especially as it pertained to children. They noted that a trend had occurred moving the emphasis away from religious behavior to the “motivation behind that behavior” (Gorsuch pg. 186).
Peter Hills, Leslie Francis and Mandy Robbins published The Development of the Revised Religious Life Inventory (RLI-R) by Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis in 2005. This study was an effort to further the empirical data collection of religious orientation. They examined the data collected in order to further “explore the structure of the RLI with a substantial cross-denominational sample . . . [and] examine the statistical associations among the extrinsic, intrinsic and quest orientations of religiosity” (Hills pg. 1391). Their study eliminated numerous items from the extrinsic and quest portions of the test because they did not add any validity and in contrast hindered the accuracy of the subscales. Their study also showed that the original “three-factor scale of Batson and Ventis (1982) . . . did not meet any of the minimum fit requirements for satisfactory model” (Hills pg. 1396). They effectively whittled down the original 32 item scale to a 26 item scale which resulted in better statistical reliability.
Monday, December 24, 2007
An Examination of the Effects of Religious Orientation on Personality (Part 1)
Ok so I wrote this really good research paper that expands on the ideas I presented in an earlier paper which is posted here and titled A Critque of Allport's Mature Religion. For ease of reading I am breaking the paper into multiple sections so the rest will be coming.
If you want more please comment and tell me how ethusiatic you are about getting the rest of this very interesting paper!
An Examination of the Effects of Religious Orientation on Personality:
Fostering Intrinsic Religious Orientation in Early Childhood Development
Abstract
The field of Religion and Psychology has existed for quite some time, however it has only been within the last 50 or so years that any empirical research has been accomplished. There have been many scales developed to identify the differing religious orientations an individual can subscribe to. These scales have recently been correlated with personality tests and the results provide an interesting perspective on the correlating nature of religion and psychology. This information can be used to describe and predict either an individual’s personality or religious orientation when certain factors are known. This knowledge can be very beneficial if a causal relationship can be established between religious orientation and specific personality traits. This relationship could allow for improvements in the psychological development of children as well as the implications this would provide for improving many social aspects of societal interactions.
Introduction
It is the intention of this paper to demonstrate a correlation between specific personality traits and religious orientation, as well as suggest a causal relationship between religious orientation and specific negative personality traits which can be utilized to counteract the development of these traits. The results will support a recommendation for the exclusion of quest religious orientation, as the characteristics commonly associated with it are better suited for inclusion between the intrinsic and extrinsic orientations. This paper will also recommend the fostering of intrinsic religious orientation in early childhood development as a method of decreasing the negative personality traits associated with the extrinsic religious orientation.
There are specific personality traits that tend to correlate with religious orientation. Those with extrinsic religious orientations will demonstrate higher levels of prejudice and personality traits that are commonly held to be undesirable and in contrast to the religious orientation professed. Those demonstrating an intrinsic religious orientation will be less likely to maintain prejudice and experience guilt and anxiety symptoms at a lower rate, holding the personality traits deemed desirable by society. Those of a quest religious orientation will fall into a middle ground, in which their beliefs are internalized to an extent, however they are characterized by a continued search for answers and the ability to change their beliefs frequently. They will have personality traits that fall into the middle ground between those of the extrinsic and intrinsic orientation, being more desirable than, while not the ideal traits, desired for stability by society. Quest orientation is relatively new to the field of religion and psychology and perhaps unnecessary.
Method
This paper presents a comprehensive examination of past and recent research on the subject of religious orientation and personality. The research was divided into three categories for ease of analysis and explanation. First, the history of the field and the development of scales of religiosity utilized, second, the correlations between religious orientation and personality, and finally, the development of spirituality in youth. After the examination, suggestions for the elimination of quest as a category of religious orientation, the causal effects of religious orientation on personality and the positive effects of fostering an intrinsic orientation in early development will be provided.
If you want more please comment and tell me how ethusiatic you are about getting the rest of this very interesting paper!
An Examination of the Effects of Religious Orientation on Personality:
Fostering Intrinsic Religious Orientation in Early Childhood Development
Abstract
The field of Religion and Psychology has existed for quite some time, however it has only been within the last 50 or so years that any empirical research has been accomplished. There have been many scales developed to identify the differing religious orientations an individual can subscribe to. These scales have recently been correlated with personality tests and the results provide an interesting perspective on the correlating nature of religion and psychology. This information can be used to describe and predict either an individual’s personality or religious orientation when certain factors are known. This knowledge can be very beneficial if a causal relationship can be established between religious orientation and specific personality traits. This relationship could allow for improvements in the psychological development of children as well as the implications this would provide for improving many social aspects of societal interactions.
Introduction
It is the intention of this paper to demonstrate a correlation between specific personality traits and religious orientation, as well as suggest a causal relationship between religious orientation and specific negative personality traits which can be utilized to counteract the development of these traits. The results will support a recommendation for the exclusion of quest religious orientation, as the characteristics commonly associated with it are better suited for inclusion between the intrinsic and extrinsic orientations. This paper will also recommend the fostering of intrinsic religious orientation in early childhood development as a method of decreasing the negative personality traits associated with the extrinsic religious orientation.
There are specific personality traits that tend to correlate with religious orientation. Those with extrinsic religious orientations will demonstrate higher levels of prejudice and personality traits that are commonly held to be undesirable and in contrast to the religious orientation professed. Those demonstrating an intrinsic religious orientation will be less likely to maintain prejudice and experience guilt and anxiety symptoms at a lower rate, holding the personality traits deemed desirable by society. Those of a quest religious orientation will fall into a middle ground, in which their beliefs are internalized to an extent, however they are characterized by a continued search for answers and the ability to change their beliefs frequently. They will have personality traits that fall into the middle ground between those of the extrinsic and intrinsic orientation, being more desirable than, while not the ideal traits, desired for stability by society. Quest orientation is relatively new to the field of religion and psychology and perhaps unnecessary.
Method
This paper presents a comprehensive examination of past and recent research on the subject of religious orientation and personality. The research was divided into three categories for ease of analysis and explanation. First, the history of the field and the development of scales of religiosity utilized, second, the correlations between religious orientation and personality, and finally, the development of spirituality in youth. After the examination, suggestions for the elimination of quest as a category of religious orientation, the causal effects of religious orientation on personality and the positive effects of fostering an intrinsic orientation in early development will be provided.
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