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Direct replication of Gervais & Norenzayan (2012): No evidence that analytic thinking decreases religious belief.

Clinton SanchezBrian SundermeierKenneth GrayRobert J Calin-Jageman
Published in: PloS one (2017)
Gervais & Norenzayan (2012) reported in Science a series of 4 experiments in which manipulations intended to foster analytic thinking decreased religious belief. We conducted a precise, large, multi-site pre-registered replication of one of these experiments. We observed little to no effect of the experimental manipulation on religious belief (d = 0.07 in the wrong direction, 95% CI[-0.12, 0.25], N = 941). The original finding does not seem to provide reliable or valid evidence that analytic thinking causes a decrease in religious belief.
Keyphrases
  • public health