Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7289812 | Consciousness and Cognition | 2014 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
Praying over longer time spans can foster self-control. Less is known about the immediate, short-term consequences of praying. Here we investigated the possibility that praying may counteract self-control depletion. Participants suppressed or did not suppress thoughts about a white bear before engaging in a brief period of either personal prayer or free thought. Then, all participants completed a Stroop task. As expected, thought suppression led to poorer Stroop performance in the free thought, but not in the prayer condition. This effect emerged on a dependent variable devoid of any religious or moral associations (Stroop task). Possible mediating mechanisms and directions for future research are discussed.
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Authors
Malte Friese, Lea Schweizer, Anaïs Arnoux, Fabienne Sutter, Michaela Wänke,