Is the call to prayer a call to cooperate? A field experiment on the impact of religious salience on prosocial behavior
While religiosity is positively correlated with self-reported prosociality, observational and experimental studies on the long-hypothesized connection between religion and prosocial behavior have yielded mixed results. Recent work highlights the role of religious salience for stimulating prosocial...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2015-11-01
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| Series: | Judgment and Decision Making |
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| Online Access: | http://journal.sjdm.org/15/15623/jdm15623.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797716428589105152 |
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| author | Erik P. Duhaime |
| author_facet | Erik P. Duhaime |
| author_sort | Erik P. Duhaime |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While religiosity is
positively correlated with self-reported prosociality, observational and
experimental studies on the long-hypothesized connection between religion and
prosocial behavior have yielded mixed results. Recent work highlights the role
of religious salience for stimulating prosocial behavior, but much of this
research has involved priming Christian subjects in laboratory settings,
limiting generalization to the real world. Here I present a field study
conducted in the souks in the medina of Marrakesh, Morocco, which shows that
religious salience can increase prosocial behavior with Muslim subjects in a
natural setting. In an economic decision making task similar to a dictator
game, shopkeepers demonstrated increased prosocial behavior when the Islamic
call to prayer was audible compared to when it was not audible. This finding
complements a growing literature on the connection between cultural cues,
religious practices, and prosocial behavior, and supports the hypothesis that
religious rituals play a role in galvanizing prosocial behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T08:22:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fe3bbe927c304e19a3e8f815a4784b4e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1930-2975 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T08:22:16Z |
| publishDate | 2015-11-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Judgment and Decision Making |
| spelling | doaj.art-fe3bbe927c304e19a3e8f815a4784b4e2023-09-02T18:28:13ZengCambridge University PressJudgment and Decision Making1930-29752015-11-01106593596Is the call to prayer a call to cooperate? A field experiment on the impact of religious salience on prosocial behaviorErik P. DuhaimeWhile religiosity is positively correlated with self-reported prosociality, observational and experimental studies on the long-hypothesized connection between religion and prosocial behavior have yielded mixed results. Recent work highlights the role of religious salience for stimulating prosocial behavior, but much of this research has involved priming Christian subjects in laboratory settings, limiting generalization to the real world. Here I present a field study conducted in the souks in the medina of Marrakesh, Morocco, which shows that religious salience can increase prosocial behavior with Muslim subjects in a natural setting. In an economic decision making task similar to a dictator game, shopkeepers demonstrated increased prosocial behavior when the Islamic call to prayer was audible compared to when it was not audible. This finding complements a growing literature on the connection between cultural cues, religious practices, and prosocial behavior, and supports the hypothesis that religious rituals play a role in galvanizing prosocial behavior.http://journal.sjdm.org/15/15623/jdm15623.pdfdecision making prosocial behavior cooperation religion.NAKeywords |
| spellingShingle | Erik P. Duhaime Is the call to prayer a call to cooperate? A field experiment on the impact of religious salience on prosocial behavior Judgment and Decision Making decision making prosocial behavior cooperation religion.NAKeywords |
| title | Is the call to
prayer a call to cooperate? A field experiment on the impact of religious
salience on prosocial behavior |
| title_full | Is the call to
prayer a call to cooperate? A field experiment on the impact of religious
salience on prosocial behavior |
| title_fullStr | Is the call to
prayer a call to cooperate? A field experiment on the impact of religious
salience on prosocial behavior |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is the call to
prayer a call to cooperate? A field experiment on the impact of religious
salience on prosocial behavior |
| title_short | Is the call to
prayer a call to cooperate? A field experiment on the impact of religious
salience on prosocial behavior |
| title_sort | is the call to prayer a call to cooperate a field experiment on the impact of religious salience on prosocial behavior |
| topic | decision making prosocial behavior cooperation religion.NAKeywords |
| url | http://journal.sjdm.org/15/15623/jdm15623.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT erikpduhaime isthecalltoprayeracalltocooperateafieldexperimentontheimpactofreligioussalienceonprosocialbehavior |