The prosocial impact of God concept priming on God believers.

Abstract

The present research examined the effects of an activation of God on prosociality in the presence or absence of a belief in God. In 3 studies, participants were primed with either the word GOD or the nonword GUB. Their intention to volunteer for community work (Study 1), donate their organs upon their death (Study 2), and the length of time in which they immersed their hands in ice-cold water (cold-pressor task) for the sake of charity (Study 3) were measured. In all 3 studies, participants who professed to believe in God showed higher prosocial responses when exposed to the God prime as compared with the non-God prime. However, this effect was not found among participants who professed to be nonbelievers. Furthermore, the results were constant across several different religions (i.e., Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, & Theism). Hence, results suggest that a personal belief in God moderates the priming effect of God on prosociality. Moreover, the importance of increasing specificity of the constructs examined and engaging in replications of priming studies are also discussed.