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Experimentation in Psychology of Religion

Psychology of Religion and the true experiment:Experimental

design or the true experiment: True experiments are also called

experimental designs like the ones we did at school about

chemistry or physics. For example, we might want to see what

happens to sodium when we expose it to air and compare this with

when it is exposed to water. The variable manipulated by the

experimenter is called independent variable (IV), that is its value

is not dependent upon the other variables being investigated. The

other variable in such an experiment is called the dependent

variable (DV). It is called thus because it is assumed to be

dependent upon the value of the IV. Indeed, the purpose of the

experiment is to establish or dismiss such dependence.

Manipulated IV; random allocation of participants to groups;analysis by comparison between groups.

Feasibility of the true experiment in psychology of religion: True

experiments are the best method of showing cause and effect

relationships, revealing the inadequacies of bad theory, and test

good theories (falsification principle). Attempts to increase a

persons religious intensity, to reduce sin, guilt, and self-

indulgence are worthy goals. Moreover, true experiments do not

require that the experimenter withhold religious treatments, but

he compares current methods with what he expects will be better

methods, using randomized methods. Areas of psychology of

religion where a true experiment may be applied: religious

education as an area where a number of situations conducive to

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true experiments occur. There are times in religious education

when a particular program is so popular that not everyone can be

accommodated at once. Or, the recent emphasis on growth within

many religious groups has resulted in the formation of new

churches or religious bodies. Such new units also are fertile

ground for true experiments.

Aspects related to r eligion which can be investigated under the

true experiment: Religious practices related to money as a means

of behaving in life; religious adherences related to congregational

matters; religious beliefs associated with personal religiouspractices; religiosity and religious isolation; religiousness and

the issue of communication; aspects of religious regression and

the issue of conformity to religious norms.

Quasi-experimental designs in psychology of religion:Indirect

manipulation of variables or quasi-experimental designs:

Pseudo-manipulation of IV; non-random allocation of

participants; analysis by comparison between groups. Quasi-

experimental designs permit the researcher to capitalize on much

of the theory-testing potential of experiments, second, because

they are contrasted with the experimental ideal, the researcher is

continually reminded of their inferential limitations.

Contributions of quasi-experimentation to psychology of religion:

A quasi-experimental approach highlights several potentially

valuable, but at present rarely used research designs. For example,

there is a time-series design, in which measures are taken at a

number of points in time prior to as well as following some

naturally-occurring manipulation. Such a design could be used to

examine the relationship between religious activities (revivals,

summer camps, festivals, catechetical school, worship, etc.) and

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either psychological antecedents or behavioural consequences. A

time-series design can be effective in both general theory testing

and specific program evaluation, especially if one can collect time-

series data both on individuals who do not experience the activity

in question and on individuals who do.

Quasi-experimental technique of the pretest-posttest non-

equivalent comparison group design: In this design, pre and post

manipulation measures are taken on non-comparable groups. For

example, there was conducted a study by Batson (1975), in which

junior high females on a church retreat divided themselves intotwo groups, believers in Jesus as the Son of God and non believers.

After an initial questionnaire measure of intensity of religious

belief, everyone read a contrived news story that revealed that

Christianity was a hoax. While not all participants believed the

article was true, about one-third indicated they did. Consistent

with Festingers (1957) theory of cognitive dissonance those

believers who indicated they accepted the article as true actually

expressed more intense religious belief on a subsequent

questionnaire. An increase was not observed for other groups.

Ethical issues in conducting experiments in psychology of religion:

Ethical and practical feasibility of experimentation in psychology

of religion: First there has to be sufficient time to design and set

up the study and sufficient opportunity for the study about to be

carried out to show its effectiveness in relation to the dependent

and independent variable(s) concerned. Second, the participants

taken part in the study should be fully informed of what is going

on. Especially, in experiments regarding psychology of religion,

there may be numbers of participants withdrawing from the

experiments for reasons not willing to reveal. This must be

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accepted by the experimenter, so the participant to be given the

pace to opt out without the slightest impression that his/her

withdrawal be afterwards discussed. Third, participants should feel

free to express themselves in relation to the experiment conducted,

so no misapprehension about the nature of the experiment be left

unanswered.

Formal briefing and debriefing should be followed: The

experimenter should overall and beforehand inform his/her

participants what is going to be asked/questioned/measured on

the course of the experiment. Participants should know preciselythe nature of the experiment; they should be asked to submit the

consent provided, as well as to feel free to express any query might

left unclear. After the experiment has taken place, participants

should be thanked for their cooperation and participation. They

also should be again explained what took place in that study,

should be asked about any other question during the course of

their participation, whereas, finally, to become clear once again

that the data selected will be employed for reasons of the study,

will be kept anonymity and confidentiality and there will not

revealed to any third party.

Protection of the participants: Participants will be protected

during the experiment. No experiment exhibiting participants to

any harm will be conducted, and this would be become clear to

participants before the actual experiment takes place. Also, if any

medical measure or samples are to be taken during the

experiments, such as blood and saliva samples, will be made clear

they will be not be used against the participants; any action taken

against the participants is against the law and forces any

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experiment to an end, by simultaneously destroying any data

collected so far.

Prominent measures and questionnaires in Psychology of Religion:

The Allport-Ross Religious Orientation Scale: (Wulff, p. 233).

Intrinsic and Extrinsic items. Intrinsic: I try hard to carry my

religion over into all my other dealings in life. Extrinsic: What

religion offers me most is comfort when sorrows and misfortune

strike.

Batsons twelve-item quest scale: Complexity: I was not very

interested in religion until I began to ask questions about themeaning and purpose of my life. Doubt: It might be said that I

value my religious doubts and uncertainties. Tentativeness: As I

grow and change, I expect my religion also to grow and change.

The California F(orms) Scale and the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale:

California F Scale: Obedience and respect for authority are the

most important virtues children should learn. Rokeach

Dogmatism Scale: Most people just dont know whats good for

them.

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