Personality Ratings Are Influenced by Religious Stereotype and Ingroup Bias

Abstract

A religious prosociality stereotype exists such that religiosity and prosociality are presumed to be positively associated, as evidenced by proxy measures such as personality traits. However, studies using self- and peer-ratings of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness have not simultaneously controlled for the religiosity of the participant and the target. One hundred and sixty students completed measures of religiosity in a prescreening survey. Later, participants rated an array of targets, including a Christian and an atheist, on adjectives corresponding to Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Regardless of participant religiosity, atheist targets were rated as being lower in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness relative to those labeled as Christians. This bias was greater for highly religious participants. This effect was mediated by perceptions of the morality of the target independent of participants' broader attitudes concerning the target's religious group. Implications are discussed.