Is God's call more than audible? A preliminary exploration using a two‐dimensional model of theistic/spiritual beliefs and experiences

Abstract

Among spiritual individuals, auditory hallucinations (AHs) are often accompanied by positive affectivity (PA) suggesting that such coincidental affective valence might gainfully demark spiritual from comparable non-spiritual aberrant perceptions. Yet nearly all of the relevant past religiosity/spirituality research has been limited to AHs and/or known groups (Evangelicals, epilepsy patients, etc.). Using a community sample (N = 485), this article explores whether unusual perceptual experiences (UEs) more generally (not simply AHs) together with PA predict participants' self-reported spirituality. Specifically, a dual marker hypothesis developed from affect attribution theory-in which UE, PA, and their interaction predict spirituality in a non-additive positive fashion-is proposed and confirmed (even after controlling for socio-demographics). The estimators reveal that spirituality is disproportionately elevated for high scorers on both predictors. These results are consistent with previous known-group studies and support recent speculation that the affective-cognitive interpretation of perceptual aberrations might be a key feature of spirituality and one that potentially demarks it from psychosis. Moreover, the correlation between spirituality and PA varies depending upon one's UE level; a result not anticipated by the incumbent positive psychological theory of spirituality.

Life hassles and delusional ideation: Scoping the potential role of cognitive and affective mediators

“…Although the correlations in Table lend some tentative support to this possibility, this was not investigated further as disentangling these associations was not the principal purpose of the current study. When considering the concept of non‐empirical/delusional ideation more broadly, the question of whether PA might specifically inoculate against persecutory ideation yet heighten grandiosity and/or spirituality tendencies (Schuurmans‐Stekhoven, ) remains to be explored further.…”

“…Substantial evidence suggests that psychotic‐like experiences exist along a continuum in the general population (Johns & van Os, ; Schuurmans‐Stekhoven, ; van Os, Hanssen, Bijl, & Ravelli, ) – the fully dimensional model . Although psychotic symptoms cluster into a syndrome, recent research has tended to focus on the predictors of specific symptoms (Johns et al ., ).…”

“…In terms of emotional changes and delusions, NA has received considerable attention in the literature. Although some research indicates that PA may deter delusional reasoning following perceptual disturbance or stressful events (Myin‐Germeys & van Os, ), Schuurmans‐Stekhoven () counters that the affective hue that accompanies perceptual disturbances might not predict the subsequent proclivity to form non‐empirical convictions but instead affectivity may act as a ‘switch’, determining whether paranoid delusions (NA) or spiritual convictions (PA) are formed. Nevertheless, as PA does seem to alleviate the impact of stress – for example, Gloria, Faulk, and Steinhardt () found that PA completely mediated the effects of work stress on resilience – there is a basis for suspecting PA could protect against delusion formation when confronting stress.…”

Estudos psicométricos da Escala de Avaliação da Percepção da Religiosidade

“…Para além desse fato, uma agenda de pesquisa deve ser organizada, na qual poderão ser incluídos outros instrumentos, com o intuito de buscar outras evidências de validade baseadas na relação com outras variáveis. A relação de religiosidade com personalidade tem sido investigada, mais especialmente, com os fatores extroversão e neuroticismo do Big Five, assim como com as virtudes (Schuurmans-Stekhoven, 2013) e com o estresse (Powers, Cramer, & Grubka, 2007).…”

“…Em alguma medida, isso também é compartilhado por Fleck (2000), Emmons e Paloutzian (2003), Schultz, Tallman e Altmaier (2010), Schuurmans-Stekhoven (2013) e Vaillant (2013), ao defenderem que nas últimas décadas os aspectos "não materiais", ou espirituais, têm sido mais valorizados, de modo que se pode constatar na Psicologia um renovado interesse pelo assunto. Oliveira e Balbinotto Neto (2014) apresentam dados referentes à participação religiosa no mundo e afirmam que aproximadamente 90% da população mundial possui algum tipo de crença.…”