OBJECTIVE The present study explored the role of the emotional experience of God (i.e., positive and negative God images) in the happiness of chronic pain (CP) patients. Framed in the transactional model of stress, we tested a model in which God images would influence happiness partially through its influence on disease interpretation as a mediating mechanism. We expected God images to have bot...

Abstract Unraveling the complex notion of “self” and “other” necessitates a layered approach that explores biology, namely genetics; philosophy, event phenomenology; culture, religion. This essay examines (1) latest paradigm shift occurring in genetic sciences due to increased knowledge epigenetic effects on gene expression how our DNA functions concert with cellular apparatus, body, environmen...

For a society to function efficiently, it is desirable that all members of this society care no only about themselves, but also about the society as a whole, i.e., about all the other individuals from the society. In practice, most people are only capable of caring about a few other individuals. We analyze this problem from the viewpoint of decision theory and show that even with such imperfect...

Religiosity and participation in religious activities have been linked with decreased risky behavior. In the current research, we hypothesized that exposure to the concept of God can actually increase people's willingness to engage in certain types of risks. Across seven studies, reminders of God increased risk taking in nonmoral domains. This effect was mediated by the perceived danger of a ri...

Anthropomorphism is a default strategy for making the unfamiliar familiar, but is it a uniform strategy? Do all dimensions of anthropomorphism “hang together”? We explored this question by involving adults (n = 99) in a speeded property-attribution task in which they decided, as quickly as possible, whether properties of two types— psychological and physiological—could be attributed to God. Par...