The association between religiousness and depressive symptoms was examined with meta-analytic methods across 147 independent investigations (N 98,975). Across all studies, the correlation between religiousness and depressive symptoms was –.096, indicating that greater religiousness is mildly associated with fewer symptoms. The results were not moderated by gender, age, or ethnicity, but the religiousness– depression association was stronger in studies involving people who were undergoing stress due to recent life events. The results were also moderated by the type of measure of religiousness used in the study, with extrinsic religious orientation and negative religious coping (e.g., avoiding difficulties through religious activities, blaming God for difficulties) associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, the opposite direction of the overall findings.

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Religiousness and depression: evidence for a main effect and the moderating influence of stressful life events.

We examine empirical evidence for religious prosociality, the hypothesis that religions facilitate costly behaviors that benefit other people. Although sociological surveys reveal an association between self-reports of religiosity and prosociality, experiments measuring religiosity and actual prosocial behavior suggest that this association emerges primarily in contexts where reputational concerns are heightened. Experimentally induced religious thoughts reduce rates of cheating and increase altruistic behavior among anonymous strangers. Experiments demonstrate an association between apparent profession of religious devotion and greater trust. Cross-cultural evidence suggests an association between the cultural presence of morally concerned deities and large group size in humans. We synthesize converging evidence from various fields for religious prosociality, address its specific boundary conditions, and point to unresolved questions and novel predictions.

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The Origin and Evolution of Religious Prosociality

In industrial- and social-psychological research, the variables of interest are often measured by means of Likert-type questionnaires or scales. The internal validity of the conclusions reached in such research directly depends on the reliability (e.g., internal consistency) and the validity of the questionnaires or scales used. Typically, item-analytic procedures have been used to arrive at sets of internally consistent items and subsequently the validity of these scales was investigated by correlating the total scores on them with criteria of interest. In the case of multi-dimensional scales, both the convergent validity of the respective subscales (i.e., the degree to which the items within a particular subscale measure the same uni-dimensional construct), and their discriminant validity (i.e., the degree to which the items in different subscales measure different rather than the same construct) need to be considered. The analyses to investigate internal consistency, convergent validity and discriminant validity cannot proceed in just any order as the analysis of some of these properties presupposes that particular results have been obtained for the other. For example, in the case of multi-dimensional scales it makes little sense to investigate the internal consistency of the total scale by means of Cronbach’s alpha, as this index assumes uni-dimensionality. Green, Lizzits and Mulaik (1977) have shown that items showing

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An item selection procedure to maximise scale reliability and validity

From an evolutionary standpoint, a default presumption is that true beliefs are adaptive and misbeliefs maladaptive. But if humans are biologically engineered to appraise the world accurately and to form true beliefs, how are we to explain the routine exceptions to this rule? How can we account for mistaken beliefs, bizarre delusions, and instances of self-deception? We explore this question in some detail. We begin by articulating a distinction between two general types of misbelief: those resulting from a breakdown in the normal functioning of the belief formation system (e.g., delusions) and those arising in the normal course of that system's operations (e.g., beliefs based on incomplete or inaccurate information). The former are instances of biological dysfunction or pathology, reflecting "culpable" limitations of evolutionary design. Although the latter category includes undesirable (but tolerable) by-products of "forgivably" limited design, our quarry is a contentious subclass of this category: misbeliefs best conceived as design features. Such misbeliefs, unlike occasional lucky falsehoods, would have been systematically adaptive in the evolutionary past. Such misbeliefs, furthermore, would not be reducible to judicious - but doxastically 1 noncommittal - action policies. Finally, such misbeliefs would have been adaptive in themselves, constituting more than mere by-products of adaptively biased misbelief- producing systems. We explore a range of potential candidates for evolved misbelief, and conclude that, of those surveyed, only positive illusions meet our criteria.

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The evolution of misbelief.

Forgiveness is a concept with deep religious roots. It is also a basic social and psychological phenomenon. In this article, we explore the links between forgiveness and religion by surveying how they are linked in the major monotheistic world religions, and how they appear to be linked empirically. In attempting to account for the current body of empirical findings, we propose four potential substantive and methodological explanations that should be explored in future studies. Because the concept of forgiveness is (a) both spiritual and social-psychological in nature, and (b) possibly linked to some measures of human health and well-being (concerns that have traditionally been of interest to both researchers in personality and researchers in religion), the concept of forgiveness could be an important common ground for future research on the interface of religion and personality. The concept of forgiveness has dual natures: a common one and a transcendent one. In the common, material world, forgiveness is just one more social-psychological phenomenon. We can think about it and study

Religion and the Forgiving Personality

Reliability and validity of scores on the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) are reviewed with respect to social desirability. ROS measures intrinsic religiousness (I; religion as an end unto itself...

The Religious Orientation Scale: Review and Meta-Analysis of Social Desirability Effects:

Recent research suggests experiencing community at work (i.e., perceiving a sense of community [SOC] and a sense of community responsibility [SOC-R]) is important for employee and organizational outcomes, however, we know very little about how these constructs operate in human resource management contexts. This study peers into the strategic human resource management "black box," which is an organizational setting where psychological and social variables are believed to influence employee perceptions in ways that impact their individual functioning, and subsequently improve organizational outcomes. Specifically, the study tests hypotheses regarding the relationship between high-involvement work climate (i.e., a human resource context), psychological need satisfaction, SOC, SOC-R, organizational identification, and organizational citizenship behaviors, in an attempt to theoretically ground, and empirically test, if experiences of community matter in the human resource management "black box." Data from 312 employees across multiple organizations were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling, and the findings reveal that experiences of community likely play an important role in the strategic human resource black box. The findings highlight that human resource practitioners, and scholars at the intersection of community psychology and human resource management, should consider further evaluation and action around experiences of community at work. Such a focus may help to create and build more socially sustainable organizational contexts for employees where they can thrive while organizations attempt to achieve collective goals.

Douglas E. Trimble

Papers

The Religious Orientation Scale: Review and Meta-Analysis of Social Desirability Effects:

Community experiences in the strategic human resource management black box.