Jordan P. LaBouff

Priming Christian Religious Concepts Increases Racial Prejudice

Positive correlations have been found between several self-report measures of religiousness and racial prejudice; however, no experiment has yet examined the direct effect of religion on racial attitudes. In the current studies, persons were subliminally primed with Christian or neutral words. Then covert racial prejudice (Study 1) and general negative affect toward African-Americans (Study 2) were assessed. Participants subliminally primed with Christian words displayed more covert racial prejudice against African-Americans (Study 1) and more general negative affect toward African-Americans (Study 2) than did persons primed with neutral words. The effects of priming on racial prejudice remained even when statistically controlling for pre-existing levels of religiousness and spirituality. Possible mechanisms for the observed effect of Christian religion on racial prejudice are discussed.

Development and initial validation of an implicit measure of humility relative to arrogance

Data from two studies describe the development of an implicit measure of humility and support the idea that dispositional humility is a positive quality with possible benefits. In Study 1, 135 college students completed Humility and Self-Esteem Implicit Association Tests (IATs) and several self-report measures of personality self-concept. Fifty-four participants also completed the Humility IAT again approximately 2 weeks later and their humility was rated by close acquaintances. The Humility IAT was found to be internally and temporally consistent. Implicit humility correlated with self-reported humility relative to arrogance, implicit self-esteem, and narcissism (inversely). Humility was not associated with self-reported low self-esteem, pessimism, or depression. In fact, self-reported humility relative to arrogance correlated positively with self-reported self-esteem, gratitude, forgiveness, spirituality, and general health. In addition, self-reported humility and acquaintance-rated humility correlated positively; however, implicit humility and acquaintance-rated humility were not strongly associated. In Study 2, to examine the idea that humility might be associated with increased academic performance, we examined actual course grades of 55 college students who completed Humility and Self-Esteem IATs. Implicit humility correlated positively with higher actual course grades when narcissism, conscientiousness, and implicit self-esteem were simultaneously controlled. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Humble persons are more helpful than less humble persons: Evidence from three studies

Connections between humility and other prosocial qualities led us to develop a humility–helpfulness hypothesis. In three studies, humble persons were more helpful than less humble persons. In Study 1, participants (n = 117) completed self-report measures of humility, the Big Five, and helpfulness. In Study 2, participants (n = 90) completed an implicit measure of humility and were presented with an unexpected opportunity to help someone in need. In Study 3, participants (n = 103) completed self-report and implicit measures of humility and were presented a similar helping opportunity. Humility and helpfulness correlated positively when personality and impression management were controlled. Humble participants helped more than did less humble participants even when agreeableness and desirable responding were statistically controlled. Further, implicit humility uniquely predicted helping behavior in an altruistic motivation condition.

Differences in Attitudes Toward Outgroups in Religious and Nonreligious Contexts in a Multinational Sample: A Situational Context Priming Study

Researchers in the psychology of religion have begun utilizing priming methods to investigate the effects of the salience of religious concepts. These tightly controlled laboratory studies have demonstrated that priming religion may increase intergroup bias in both religious and nonreligious persons. The present study examined this possibility in a religiously and culturally diverse population using ecologically valid methods. Participants were recruited as they passed by either a religious or nonreligious structure in Western Europe. Participants in the religious context self-reported more negative attitudes toward non-Christian groups, more conservative political attitudes, and more personal religiousness and spirituality regardless of their personal belief in God. Results are discussed in terms of intergroup bias and salience of religious norms and stereotypes across cultures.

Religiosity and Group-Binding Moral Concerns

Research by Graham and Haidt (2010) suggests that beliefs, rituals, and other social aspects of religion establish moral communities. As such, they suggest religion is most strongly associated with the group-focused “binding” moral foundations of ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity. Two studies tested this hypothesis, investigating the role of political orientation in these relationships. These studies supported our hypothesis that general religiosity is positively associated with each of the group-focused moral foundations, even when controlling for the role of political orientation. Further, we find religious and political orientations interact such that low-religious political liberals are least likely to endorse group-focused moral intuitions. Results are discussed in a moral foundations framework and consider the role of religiositys association with political orientation and group-focused moral foundations.