PsychReligionExam1StudyGuide.docx

Study guide 1 The exam will be worth 80 points Some Important Terms and Concepts Be able to give an example of each of the following along with a brief characterization, example if appropriate, and application to the study of religion. Remember that PR refers to the main text and SE to the social ecology book. There will be identifications, multiple choice, and short essay questions on the exam. Religion (Dr. B?s usage) Science: J. Frazer: Book: many editions Tries go thru as many of cultural mythologies & classify religions Scenario [popular]: magic = original kind of religious observance Ex: drought rain dance dance [magic] Magic religion: much more formal that ?magic? Magic religion science Ex: try figure why doesn?t rain; not assume punishment for sin as one would if chalked it up to religion Ex: global warming: some say in God?s hands, some same we must do what we can [which can be religion + science] Science = from magic: especially from study of the occult Science is out of archenemy [occult] Occult: ?hidden from our senses? Science: ?a central tenet of modern science is methodological naturalism ?it seeks to explain in the universe purely in terms of observed or testable natural mechanisms? Social ecology : when referring to religion, it means the relationship between religious beliefs & practices and the social & physical environment of ppl concerned. Qualitative and Quantitative data: Qualitative Data: is interpretative study of specified issue or problem when the researcher is central to the sense that is made Quantitative Data: deals with numbers & scales, and then qualitative makes sense of what the numbers mean Acceptability depends if can reach scientific criteria of reliability & validity Qualitative Data: Qualitative collection ranges from writing biography of a religious person to chatting with several ppl about a religious topic, conducting interviews with open-ended questions, or having ppl tell stories ab a pic they are given. Central to this = how experience is interpreted Interpretative study: (a) attempt to capture the sense that lies w/in, structures what we say about what we do (b) exploration, elaboration, systematization of the significance of the identified phenomenon (c) illuminative representation of the meaning of a delimited issues or problem Allow researchers to ?get behind? the quantitative data to uncover specific issues or problem Ex: help define what scoring something a ?4? means Researchers in Psych of Religion = greater use for qualitative Esp. relevant to gaining an understanding of religion as a meaning Aid to getting: ?new multilevel interdisciplinary paradigm that values multi levels of analysis & non- reductive assumptions regarding nature of religious & spiritual experience Method of choice for idiothetic research (research that relies largely on judgment of expert -usually 1 steeped in clinical or pastoral methods like a cleric/pastoral counselor/therapist) [some uses homothetic (seeks obtain info that?s empirical, public, reproducible, reliable)] Ex: observe ppl to determine what religious behaviors ppl perform in certain specific settings Techniques: ask ppl rate how strongly they agree with a particular statement or report how often they attend worship services Can evolve a more or less subjective review enables a scholar to make sense of the info & draw conclusions Issues: tend be fraught w/ potential bias & possible misuse; therefore should only be used according to the strict guidelines No single Qual. Method. Most common element of qual. Methods = interpretive approach Examples of methods: discourse analysis, participant observation, interviewing, ethnography ? customs of individ. Ppls or custom most use qual. With quant. Relevant to study of psych. Of religion: Narrative analysis: qual. Technique used to investigate the means by which individuals utilize the lang. of their culture to construct a story of their experience vry good for psychoanalytic theory Hood/Bersen: recommend archives of taped interviews Quantitative: Uses stats such as means, standard deviations, significance levels, correlations to draw conclusions Typically collection of data collection & analysis in the sciences as well as in the psych of religion Reliability and Validity p28 Reliability: consistency of a measure Inner-observer reliability: multiple observers using some scales & researching same conclusions Test/Retest reliability: same conclusions are drawn in multiple tests of same subject over time Intra-observer reliability: one person maintaining consistent evaluation criteria Validity: does it measure what its suppose to Acceptability of quantitative & qualitative research depends if can reach scientific criteria of reliability & validity Ex: experiment of Ponton & Gorsuch: Quest Scale in Venezuela Reliability in qualitative: do diff. persons agree in their observations/interpretations? Yes = reliable After reliability established? must prove validity Is the rating criteria and/or items measured appropriate for whatever descriptive term is employed Reliable qualitative methods = expensive takes lots of ppl, lots of time Quantitative measurement: much less time needed less expensive preferred Qualitative methods = currently only ones to study psychological processes about understanding religion/religious views/etc Ex: rating children?s drawings depicting their concept of God Almost necessary in models where person makes a choice to be able to determine what options ?spontaneously? occur to that person Reductionism: breaking complex concepts down into the simplest parts; it involves explaining a topic by variables independent of the topic itself. 3 reductionists of religion: Freud, Cattell, James Superstition and Religion: any belief & attitude, based on fear or ignorance that is inconsistent with the known laws of science or with what is generally considered in the particular society as true & rational. Ex: belief in charms, omens, the supernatural Skinner experiment w/ rats getting food or avoiding pain ?they make irrelevant stimuli meaningful when it appears to have a positive effect Attribution theory: concerned with explanations of behavior ?primarily causal explanations about ppl, things, events; theory of meaning making; ppl make attributions because they need meaning, control, esteem Coping theory: coping is an ego defense. Many ppl use prayer and other religious thoughts & practices as a method of coping. Socialization theory: refers to way children form ideas & behaviors as a result of their parents? parenting style & goals for them. As far as religion goes, parents are the primary interpreters of religion for their children. Attachment theory and Compensation: attachment theory postulates a primary, bio-social system in the infact that was designed by evolution to maintain proximity of the infant to its primary caregiver, thereby protecting the infant from predation & other natural dangers. Compensation refers to the tendency of ppl who have not had secure relationships with parents to believe in a loving, personal, available god. Correlation: does not equal causation; just shows a relationship between two variables?does not attempt/does not explain why it occurs. Factor Analysis (what it does, not how to do it): basically factor analysis, principal component analysis, & other statistical methods are ways to condense lots of date into underlying major independent ?factors? in order to better understand phenomena. Thus, a survey may have a number of items, and since many will be answered similarly by individuals, the variability can be understood in terms of some underlying processes. Thus, a series of items may identify various dimensions of spirituality or religious attendance, etc. Often you may read, for example, that factors X, Y, and Z explain 79.35 of the variability found in a sample and thus is legitimate to talk about these factors and what processes may underlie them. Ppl can then be divided into those high & low on such factors and compared on other measures. Batson?s work is among the many that use such approaches. In personality research, the most accepted model is the ?5 factor personality model? and that is based on discovering a series of independent factors. 5 factor personality model = big 5 personality traits: Openness ? appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, curiosity, & variety of experience Conscientiousness: tendency show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement, planned rather than spontaneous behavior Extraversion: energy, positive emotions, urgency, tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others Agreeableness: tendency be compassionate & cooperative rather than suspicious & antagonistic towards others Neuroticism [emotional instability]: tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily such as anger, anxiety, depression, vulnerability Implicit vs. explicit measures: Implicit things = unconscious, automatic evaluations that influence thoughts, feelings, & behaviors Implicit Association Test Explicit = measures that are more forthright & conscious Gordon Allport: created Intrinsic-Extrinsic continuum J. G. Frazer and the origins of religion: created a 3 stage theory. Evolution of human thought passed from magic religion science. He thought science & magic perform certain actions on the physical world that leads to certain results. Religion interposes an intermediary level between human actions & the physical world, namely the world of the gods. E. Durkheim: architect of sociological theory. Thought religion arises out of nature society & religion is a social fact. Religions express the relationship between ppl & their own society & its institutions. Evans-Pritchard: an anthropologists who tried to distinguish a number a different theories of religion. He regarded the theories as intellectualist, & said they couldn?t be refuted of sustain b/c in the end, there is ?no evidence about how religious beliefs originated? Clifford Geertz: author of Isalm Observed. He thinks the human mind cannot tolerate chaos, and that religions attempt to cope with chaos in the world. Religion proposes that life in comprehensible and we can cope with our lives. Stresses importance of thinking in terms of culture, no just defined functions. Apostasy: disengagement from religion. Most common for ppl in late teens, 20?s. rising popularity of atheism. Calling: the feeling that one?s work has religious significance. Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches: Idiographic: relies on experts, such as priests, and is more individualistic. Nomothetic: more empirical, reproducible knowledge, more reliable **see qualitative/quantitative data** Situational vs. dispositional influences: Situational: focuses on influences that come from the environment Dispositional: suggests that ppl act independently of their surroundings; refers to individual characteristics Reductionism in studying religion: breaking it down into simpler ideas Freud: thought religion = infantile projection of parental figures Cattell: religion is used to avoid fear, to be nutured/nurture others Book: personally think religion = ?silly superstition?; religion powerful force in ppls lives; create religious beliefs to resolve various probs ; James: religion is superstition Book: founder of POR, respected POR/Religion; approach pragmatically ?does it help ppl to live? Followers move from ?religion? to ?spirituality? Book: empirical study of religiousness many great challenges: how maintain good empirical work standards without sacrificing richness & depth of object of study Protestant work ethic ? Max Weber: labor & good work = inseparable, & are crucial to personal salvation & success. Ecstasy and trance: trance: a clearly defined & structured departure from normal state of being in which the individual considers himself to be involved in another world ecstacy: state of mind of the person in the trance Axial age: about 600/800 BC -200 BC a period in which similar thinking occurred around the globe & many major religion began to run Syncretism: blending of two or more religious traditions or beliefs into one system. Zoroaster: focused on dualism (good vs evil); based beliefs off the Avesta (a Hindu like text, sacred texts of zoroastiranism) Confucius: Chinese scholar/philosopher whose beliefs descended from Daoism Shinto: ?way of the gods? Practice & rituals are more important than words Characterized by the worship of nature, ancestors, animism. Animism: idea spirits/souls not only in humans animals, plants, rocks, thunder, etc. 5 precepts of Buddhism: 5 pillars of Islam: only 1 God and Mohammed is his prophet SHAHADAH: profession of faith 2) pray 5 times a day towards mecca SALAT/H: prayers pilgrimage to Mecca: HAJJ = pilgrimage to Mecca almsgiving ZAKAT: giving to poor fasting during Ramadan SAWN = fasting during ramadan T(D)aoism: set of beliefs based on Buddhist principles. Lead to Confucianism [Confucianism] RF vs RWA (p. 165 in PR): RF associated weakly with antihomosexual feelings, but not racism. RWA was tied to both. RWA is more of problem, and is closely tied to prejudice attitudes.