The Minds of God(s) and Humans: Differences in Mind Perception in Fiji and North America.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
Read More Add to Saved list
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7708195 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1551-6709 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03640213 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Cogn Sci Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: 2009-: Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley-Blackwell
      Original Publication: Norwood, N. J., Ablex Pub. Corp.
    • Subject Terms:
      Culture* ; Mentalization* ; Religion* ; Theory of Mind*; Adolescent ; Adult ; Canada ; Cross-Cultural Comparison ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Fiji ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Punishment ; Reward ; United States ; Young Adult
    • Abstract:
      Previous research suggests that how people conceive of minds depends on the culture in which they live, both in determining how they interact with other human minds and how they infer the unseen minds of gods. We use exploratory factor analysis to compare how people from different societies with distinct models of human minds and different religious traditions perceive the minds of humans and gods. In two North American samples (American adults, N = 186; Canadian students, N = 202), we replicated a previously found two-factor agency/experience structure for both human and divine minds, but in Fijian samples (Indigenous iTaukei Fijians, N = 77; Fijians of Indian descent, N = 214; total N = 679) we found a three-factor structure, with the additional containing items related to social relationships. Further, Fijians' responses revealed a different three-factor structure for human minds and gods' minds. We used these factors as dimensions in the conception of minds to predict (a) expectations about human and divine tendencies towards punishment and reward; and (b) conception of gods as more embodied (an extension of experience) or more able to know people's thoughts (an extension of agency). We found variation in how these factors predict conceptions of agents across groups, indicating further theory is needed to explain how culturally generated concepts of mind lead to other sorts of social inferences. We conclude that mind perception is shaped by culturally defined social expectations and recommend further work in different cultural contexts to examine the interplay between culture and social cognition.
      (© 2019 The Authors. Cognitive Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Cognitive Science Society.)
    • References:
      Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Mar 18;100(6):3531-5. (PMID: 12631700)
      Dev Psychol. 1995 Sep;31(5):838-850. (PMID: 25147406)
      Am Psychol. 1993 Apr;48(4):384-92. (PMID: 8512154)
      Cognition. 2019 Jan;182:95-108. (PMID: 30227333)
      Hum Nat. 2013 Dec;24(4):351-74. (PMID: 24096923)
      Child Dev. 2001 May-Jun;72(3):655-84. (PMID: 11405571)
      Cognition. 2013 Nov;129(2):379-91. (PMID: 23974049)
      Nature. 2016 Feb 18;530(7590):327-30. (PMID: 26863190)
      J Pers Soc Psychol. 2002 Dec;83(6):1378-91. (PMID: 12500819)
      Hum Nat. 2005 Dec;16(4):360-81. (PMID: 26189837)
      Science. 2006 Jun 23;312(5781):1767-70. (PMID: 16794075)
      Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Apr 26;113(17):4688-93. (PMID: 27035959)
      Proc Biol Sci. 2013 Jan 30;280(1755):20122654. (PMID: 23363628)
      Behav Brain Sci. 2010 Jun;33(2-3):61-83; discussion 83-135. (PMID: 20550733)
      Cognition. 1998 Nov;69(1):1-34. (PMID: 9871370)
      Cognition. 2013 Oct;129(1):163-79. (PMID: 23891826)
      Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2010 Feb;14(1):7-16. (PMID: 19926831)
      Psychol Bull. 1998 Jan;123(1):3-32. (PMID: 9461850)
      Nature. 2002 Jan 10;415(6868):137-40. (PMID: 11805825)
      J Pers Soc Psychol. 2010 Sep;99(3):410-35. (PMID: 20649365)
      Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2010 Feb;19(1):58-62. (PMID: 24839358)
      Psychol Sci. 2005 May;16(5):378-84. (PMID: 15869697)
      Dev Psychol. 2004 Mar;40(2):217-33. (PMID: 14979762)
      Cognition. 2008 Aug;108(2):353-80. (PMID: 18439575)
      Dev Psychol. 2008 Mar;44(2):523-31. (PMID: 18331141)
      PLoS One. 2016 Dec 21;11(12):e0168354. (PMID: 28002494)
      Cogn Sci. 2016 Jan;40(1):121-44. (PMID: 25807973)
      Psychol Inq. 2012 Apr;23(2):101-124. (PMID: 22754268)
      Trends Cogn Sci. 2011 May;15(5):218-26. (PMID: 21482176)
      Psychol Rev. 2001 Apr;108(2):291-310. (PMID: 11381831)
      Science. 2007 Feb 2;315(5812):619. (PMID: 17272713)
      Behav Brain Sci. 2016 Jan;39:e1. (PMID: 26785995)
      Cogn Sci. 2008 Jun;32(4):713-40. (PMID: 21635351)
      J Pers Soc Psychol. 2011 Dec;101(6):1207-20. (PMID: 22059848)
      Nature. 2003 Oct 23;425(6960):785-91. (PMID: 14574401)
      Child Dev. 2010 Sep-Oct;81(5):1475-89. (PMID: 20840235)
      Perspect Psychol Sci. 2011 Jan;6(1):3-5. (PMID: 26162106)
      Child Dev. 2018 Nov;89(6):2157-2175. (PMID: 28984351)
      Cogn Psychol. 2017 Jun;95:50-78. (PMID: 28441519)
      Cognition. 2017 May;162:103-123. (PMID: 28219035)
      Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Oct 24;114(43):11374-11379. (PMID: 29073059)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Cross-cultural research; Fiji; Mind of god; Mind perception; Opacity of mind; Religion
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20190117 Date Completed: 20200403 Latest Revision: 20200403
    • Publication Date:
      20221213
    • Accession Number:
      PMC6590269
    • Accession Number:
      10.1111/cogs.12703
    • Accession Number:
      30648803