Read Azim’s post about Belief in free will and our sense of justice on the SPSP blog.
Azim and Stephanie’s new review article on morality and the religious mind now out in Trends in Cognitive Sciences
In collaboration with Jared Piazza at the University of Pennsylvania, Azim and Stephanie have published a new brief review article attempting to explain the differences in moral behavior and decision-making between religious believers and non-believers. A pdf of the paper is available here. The abstract is appended below: Religions have come to be intimately tied…
Azim’s article on Free Will, Neuroscience and Punishment now out in Psychological Science
In collaboration with an all-star list of researchers, Azim’s new article on how learning about the brain reduces people’s attitudes about blame and retributive punishment is now published in Psychological Science. A pdf of the paper is available here. The abstract is appended below: If free-will beliefs support attributions of moral responsibility, then reducing these…
Azim’s article with Kathleen Vohs available in June’s Scientific American
June’s issue of Scientific American contains Azim’s article with Kathleen Vohs on how diminished belief in free will may change our psychology and society. The article is available here (paywall) or in the print issue. Some of our research that features in the article is available here.
CaML (and Pranj Mehta’s SPELab) looking for a lab manager
CaML and the SPELab are looking for a bright, organized and interested candidate to jointly manage our labs for the 2014-15 academic year (with the option of longer). Detailed information posted below. The Social Psychoneuroendocrinology Lab (SPEL), directed by Pranjal Mehta, Ph.D., and the Culture and Morality Lab (CaML), directed by Azim Shariff, Ph.D.,…
Our new review paper on the moral differences between theists and non-theists just accepted at Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Azim and Stephanie have just had their paper with collaborator Jared Piazza, Morality and the Religious Mind: Why theists and non-theists differ, accepted at Trends in Cognitive Sciences. The short review paper details and explains the differences between religious believers and non-believers on issues of moral decision-making and behavior. The abstract is appended below, and…
Our new paper on Free Will and Punishment just accepted at Psychological Science
Our latest paper, Free Will and Punishment: Diminished Belief in Free Will Reduces Retribution, co-authored with a long list of collaborators (Joshua Greene, Johan Karremans, Jamie Luguri, Cory Clark, Jonathan Schooler, Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs) was just accepted at Psychological Science. In four studies, the paper shows that diminishing people’s beliefs about free will…
Our new paper suggests the desire to punish motivates free will belief
Cory Clark leads our new JPSP paper presenting 5 studies showing how a desire for comeuppance increases individual’s belief in free will. Abstract: Belief in free will is a pervasive phenomenon that has important consequences for prosocial actions and punitive judgments, but little research has investigated why free will beliefs are so widespread. Across 5…
Heaven, Hell and Happiness
Following up on an earlier paper with Mijke Rhemtulla on the connections between crime and national rates of heaven and hell belief, Lara Aknin and I have been looking at how the balance of these religious beliefs predict national happiness rates. Our new paper, recently published in PLoS One shows a very similar connection to…
Azim’s forthcoming Scientific American article (with Kathleen Vohs) wins Free Will Essay Prize
Azim Shariff and Kathleen Vohs have won a Big Questions in Free Will essay prize for their article, “What would you do if you didn’t have free will?” forthcoming in Scientific American.