Title |
Is it just a brick wall or a sign from the universe? An fMRI study of supernatural believers and skeptics
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Published in |
Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, September 2012
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DOI | 10.1093/scan/nss096 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Marjaana Lindeman, Annika M. Svedholm, Tapani Riekki, Tuukka Raij, Riitta Hari |
Abstract |
We examined with functional magnetic resonance imaging the brain activity of 12 supernatural believers and 11 skeptics who first imagined themselves in critical life situations (e.g. problems in intimate relationships) and then watched emotionally charged pictures of lifeless objects and scenery (e.g. two red cherries bound together). Supernatural believers reported seeing signs of how the situations were going to turn out in the pictures more often than skeptics did. Viewing the pictures activated the same brain regions among all participants (e.g. the left inferior frontal gyrus, IFG). However, the right IFG, previously associated with cognitive inhibition, was activated more strongly in skeptics than in supernatural believers, and its activation was negatively correlated to sign seeing in both participant groups. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on the universal processes that may underlie supernatural beliefs and the role of cognitive inhibition in explaining individual differences in such beliefs. |
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Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 14 | 33% |
United Kingdom | 7 | 17% |
Canada | 1 | 2% |
Brazil | 1 | 2% |
Hong Kong | 1 | 2% |
Australia | 1 | 2% |
India | 1 | 2% |
Spain | 1 | 2% |
Sweden | 1 | 2% |
Other | 1 | 2% |
Unknown | 13 | 31% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 34 | 81% |
Scientists | 4 | 10% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 3 | 7% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 5 | 5% |
United Kingdom | 3 | 3% |
Canada | 1 | 1% |
Unknown | 82 | 90% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 16 | 18% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 15 | 16% |
Student > Master | 11 | 12% |
Student > Bachelor | 11 | 12% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 6 | 7% |
Other | 21 | 23% |
Unknown | 11 | 12% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 38 | 42% |
Neuroscience | 9 | 10% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 8 | 9% |
Social Sciences | 7 | 8% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 6 | 7% |
Other | 9 | 10% |
Unknown | 14 | 15% |