Mental representations of the supernatural: A cluster analysis of religiosity, spirituality and paranormal belief
| Autor: | David Sheffield, Ian S. Baker, Paul Staples, Malcolm B. Schofield |
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| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Typology
media_common.quotation_subject 05 social sciences Paranormal Metaphysics 050109 social psychology Chauvinism 050105 experimental psychology Religiosity Spirituality Mental representation 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Psychology Social psychology General Psychology Skepticism media_common |
| Zdroj: | Personality and Individual Differences. 101:419-424 |
| ISSN: | 0191-8869 |
| Popis: | The aim of the study was to establish a new typology of belief in the supernatural; categorising people, based on their levels of religiosity, spirituality and paranormal belief. Examining how the various beliefs are defined was a further objective. The reasons for people having different levels of these beliefs were discussed, highlighting ‘Metaphysical Chauvinism’ as a possible explanation. Previous research that used various methods to measure religiosity, spirituality and paranormal belief were discussed. Participants (n = 307) completed an online survey consisting of the revised Religious Life Inventory (rRLI), the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale (ISS) and the revised Paranormal Belief Scale (rPBS). Two cluster analyses were performed: one on the three main scales and a secondary analysis on the ISS, the subscales of the rRLI and the rPBS. The results revealed a four cluster solution for each analysis. For the main analysis the clusters were ‘believers’, ‘paranormal believers’, ‘sceptics’ and ‘religious believers’. Metaphysical Chauvinism was supported; however, it was acknowledged that there still appears to be a lack of consensus when defining supernatural beliefs. It is proposed that the cluster analysis approach is more effective than a simple scale when trying establish how a person believes. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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