Do you want to stay informed about this journal? Click the buttons to subscribe to our alerts.
Religious-Commitment Signaling and Impression Management amongst Pentecostals: Relationships to Salivary Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase
In: Journal of Cognition and CultureReligious-commitment signaling is thought to indicate willingness to cooperate with a religious group. It follows that a desire to signal affiliation and reap concomitant benefits would lend itself to acting in socially desirable ways. Success or failure in such areas, especially where there is conscious intent, should correspond to proximal indicators of well-being, such as psychosocial or biological stress. To test this model, we assessed religious-commitment signaling and socially desirable responding among a sample of Pentecostals with respect to salivary biomarkers of stress and arousal. Results indicate that cortisol levels on worship and non-worship days were significantly influenced by religious-commitment signaling when moderated by impression management, a conscious form of socially desirable responding. No significant influences on salivary alpha-amylase were detected. These findings are important for understanding how religious-commitment signaling mechanisms may influence stress response when moderated by socially desirable responding and the role of communal orientation to psychosocial health.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Adam E.K. & Kumari M. Assessing salivary cortisol in large-scale, epidemiological research Psychoneuroendocrinology 2009 34 1423 1436
-
Alcorta C. & Sosis R. Ritual, emotion sacred symbols Human Nature 2005 16 323 359
-
Bartlett M.S. A note on the multiplying factors for various χ 2 approximations Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B (Methodological) 1954 16 296 298
-
Benson P.L., Donahue M.J. & Erickson J.A. Lynn M.L. & Moberg D.O. The faith maturity scale: Conceptualization measurement empirical validation Research in the social scientific study of religion 1993 Greenwich, CT JAI Press 1 26
-
Boivin M.J. Hill P.C. & Hood R.W. Religiosity measure (review) Measures of religiosity 1999 Birmingham, AL Religious Education Press 307 310
-
Bourguignon E. Possession 1976 Prospect Heights, IL Waveland Press
-
Boyer P. Religion explained: The evolutionary origins of religious thought 2001 New York, NY Basic Books
-
Bulbulia J. Bulbulia J., Sosis R., Harris E., Genet R., Genet C. & Wyman K. Free love: Religious solidarity on the cheap The evolution of religion: Studies, theories, and critiques 2008 Santa Margarita, CA Collins Foundation Press 153 160
-
Bulbulia J. & Sosis R. Signalling theory and the evolution of religious cooperation Religion 2011 41 363 388
-
Cattell R.B. The scree test for the number of factors Multivariate Behavioral Research 1966 1 245 276
-
Cleary E.L. Cleary E.L. & Stewart-Gambino H.W. Introduction: Pentecostals, prominence, and politics Power, politics, and Pentecostals in Latin America 1997 Boulder, CO Westview Press 1 24
-
Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences 1988 Hillsdale, NJ Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
-
Cox H.G. Fire from heaven: The rise of Pentecostal spirituality and the reshaping of religion in the twenty-first century 1995 Cambridge, MA Da Capo Press
-
Cronk L. The application of animal signaling theory to human phenomena: Some thoughts and clarifications Social Science Information 2005 44 603 620
-
Cronk L. Evolutionary theories of morality and the manipulative use of signals Zygon 1994 29 81 101
-
Dawson J.F. Moderation in management research: What why when how Journal of Business and Psychology 2014 29 1 19
-
Ellison C.G. & Hummer R.A. Religion, families, and health: Population-based research in the United States 2010 New Brunswick, NJ Rutgers University Press
-
Eriksson K. & Funcke A. Humble self-enhancement: Religiosity and the better-than-average effect Social Psychological and Personality Science 2015 5 76 83
-
Frank R.H. Passions within reason: The strategic role of emotions 1988 New York, NY W.W. Norton
-
Frank R.H. The strategic role of the emotions: Reconciling over-and undersocialized accounts of behavior Rationality and Society 1993 5 160 184
-
Glucklich A. Sacred pain 2001 New York, NY Oxford University Press
-
Hellhammer D.H., Wüst S. & Kudielka B.M. Salivary cortisol as a biomarker in stress research Psychoneuroendocrinology 2009 34 163 171
-
Henrich J. The evolution of costly displays, cooperation and religion: Credibility enhancing displays and their implications for cultural evolution Evolution and Human Behavior 2009 30 244 260
-
Hine V.H. Pentecostal glossolalia: Toward a functionalist interpretation Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 1969 8 211 226
-
Hirschleifer J. Dupre J. On the emotions as guarantors of threats and promises The latest on the best: Essays in evolution and optimality 1987 Cambridge, MA MIT Press 307 326
-
Irons W. Nesse R.M. Religion as a hard-to-fake sign of commitment Evolution and the capacity for commitment 2001 New York, NY Russell Sage Foundation 292 309
-
Irons W. Bulbulia J., Sosis R., Harris E., Genet R., Genet C. & Wyman K. Why people believe (what other people see as) crazy ideas The evolution of religion: Studies, theories, and critiques 2008 Santa Margarita, CA Collins Foundation Press 51 57
-
Johnson D.D.P. Overconfidence and war: The havoc and glory of positive illusions 2004 Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press
-
Kaiser H.F. A second generation little jiffy Psychometrika 1970 35 401 415
-
Kaiser H.F. An index of factorial simplicity Psychometrika 1974 39 31 36
-
Kay W.K. & Francis L.J. Personality mental health glossolalia Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 1995 17 253 263
-
Kirschbaum C. & Hellhammer D.H. Fink G., McEwen B., de Kloet E.R., Rubin R., Chrousos G., Steptoe A., Rose N., Craig I. & Feuerstein G. Salivary cortisol Encyclopedia of stress 2007 New York, NY Academic Press 405 409
-
Koenig H.G. Research on religion, spirituality, and mental health: A review Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie 2009 54 283 291
-
Lovallo W.R. & Thomas T.L. Cacioppo T.J., Tassinary L.G. & Bernston G.G. Stress hormones in psychophysiological research: Emotional, behavioral and cognitive implications Handbook of psychophysiology 2000 New York, NY Cambridge University Press 342 367
-
Lynn C.D. “The wrong Holy Ghost”: Discerning the Apostolic gift of discernment using a signaling and systems theoretical approach Ethos 2013 41 223 247
-
Lynn C.D., Paris J.J., Frye C.A. & Schell L.M. Salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol among Pentecostals on a worship and nonworship day American Journal of Human Biology 2010 22 819 822
-
Lynn C.D., Paris J.J., Frye C.A. & Schell L.M. Glossolalia is associated with differences in biomarkers of stress and arousal among Apostolic Pentecostals Religion, Brain and Behavior 2011 1 173 191
-
Nater U.M. & Rohleder N. Salivary alpha-amylase as a non-invasive biomarker for the sympathetic nervous system: Current state of research Psychoneuroendocrinology 2009 34 486 496
-
Nater U.M., Rohleder N., Schlotz W., Ehlert U. & Kirschbaum C. Determinants of the diurnal course of salivary alpha-amylase Psychoneuroendocrinology 2007 32 392 401
-
Norenzayan A., Atran S., Faulkner J. & Schaller M. Memory and mystery: The cultural selection of minimally counterintuitive narratives Cognitive Science 2006 30 531 553
-
Paulhus D.L. Robinson J.P., Shaver P.R. & Wrightsman L.S. Measurement and control of response bias Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes 1991 San Diego, CA Academic Press 17 59
-
Paulhus D.L. Braun H.I., Jackson D.N. & Wiley D.E. Socially desirable responding: The evolution of a construct The role of constructs in psychological and educational measurement 2002 Mahwah, NJ Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 51 69
-
Paulhus D.L. & Trapnell P.D. John O.P., Robins R.W. & Pervin L.A. Self-presentation of personality: An agency-communion framework Handbook of personality psychology: Theory and research 2008 New York, NY Guilford Press 492 517
-
Richardson J.T. Psychological interpretations of glossolalia: A reexamination of research Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 1973 12 199 207
-
Rohrbaugh J. & Jessor R. Religiosity in youth: A personal control against deviant behavior Journal of Personality 1975 43 136 155
-
Sapolsky R.M. Becker J.B., Breedlove S.M., Crews D. & McCarthy M.M. Endocrinology of the stress-response Behavioral endocrinology 2002 Cambridge, MA MIT Press 409 451
-
Schelling T. The strategy of conflict 1960 Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press
-
Sedikides C. & Gebauer J.E. Religiosity as self-enhancement: A meta-analysis of the relation between socially desirable responding and religiosity Personality and Social Psychology Review 2010 14 17 36
-
Simpson J.J. Addressing the religious free-rider problem via religious consumption signaling and religious capital accumulation 2012 Boulder, CO Master of Arts Thesis, Colorado State University
-
Soler M. Bulbulia J., Sosis R., Harris E., Genet R., Genet C. & Wyman K. Commitment costs and cooperation: Evidence from Candomblé, and Afro-Brazilian religion The evolution of religion: Studies, theories, and critiques 2008 Santa Margarita, CA Collins Foundation Press 167 174
-
Soler M. Costly signaling, ritual and cooperation: Evidence from Candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion Evolution and Human Behavior 2012 33 346 356
-
Sosis R. The adaptive value of religious ritual American Scientist 2004 92 166 172
-
Sosis R. McNamara P. & Ellens J.H. Religious behaviors, badges, and bans: Signaling theory and the evolution of religion Where God and science meet: How brain and evolutionary studies alter our understanding of religion, volume 1: Evolution, genes, and the religious brain 2006 Westport, CT Praeger 61 86
-
Sosis R. & Alcorta C.S. Signaling, solidarity and the sacred: The evolution of religious behavior Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews 2003 12 274
-
Sosis R. & Bressler E.R. Cooperation and commune longevity: A test of the costly signaling theory of religion Cross-Cultural Research 2003 37 211 239
-
Sosis R. & Ruffle B.J. Religious ritual and cooperation: Testing for a relationship on Israeli religious and secular kibbutzim Current Anthropology 2003 44 713 722
-
Sosis R., Kress H.C. & Boster J.S. Scars for war: Evaluating alternative signaling explanations for cross-cultural variance in ritual costs Evolution and Human Behavior 2007 28 234 247
-
Spence M. Job market signaling The Quarterly Journal of Economics 1973 87 355 374
-
Stöber J., Dette D.E. & Musch J. Comparing continuous and dichotomous scoring of the balanced inventory of desirable responding Journal of Personality Assessment 2002 78 370 389
-
Taylor S.E. & Armor D.A. Positive illusions and coping with adversity Journal of Personality 1996 64 873 898
-
Taylor S.E. & Brown J.D. Positive illusions and well-being revisited: Separating fact from fiction Psychological Bulletin 1994 116 21 27
-
Thurstone L.L. Multiple factor analysis 1947 Chicago, IL University of Chicago Press
-
Tisdale T.C. Hill P.C. & Hood R.W. Faith maturity scale (review) Measures of religiosity 1999 Birmingham, AL Religious Education Press 171 174
-
Trimble D.E. The religious orientation scale: Review and meta-analysis of social desirability effects Educational and Psychological Measurement 1997 57 970 986
-
Tuzin D.F. Herdt G.H. Ritual violence among the Ilahita Arapesh: The dynamics of moral and religious uncertainty Rituals of manhood: Male initiation in Papua New Guinea 1982 Berkeley, CA University of California Press 321 355
-
Uchino B. Social support and health: A review of physiological processes potentially underlying links to disease outcomes Journal of Behavioral Medicine 2006 29 377 387
-
Veblen T. The theory of the leisure class 2007 Oxford Oxford University Press [1899]
-
Whitehouse H. Modes of religiosity: A cognitive theory of religious transmission 2004 Walnut Creek, CA AltaMira Press
-
Whitehouse H. Bulbulia J., Sosis R., Harris E., Genet R., Genet C. & Wyman K. Cognitive evolution and religion: Cognition and religious evolution The evolution of religion: Studies, theories, and critiques 2008 Santa Margarita, CA Collins Foundation Press 31 42
-
Williams M.D. Community in a black Pentecostal church: An anthropological study 1984 Prospect Heights, IL Waveland Press
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 408 | 64 | 6 |
| Full Text Views | 181 | 15 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 33 | 12 | 1 |
Religious-Commitment Signaling and Impression Management amongst Pentecostals: Relationships to Salivary Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase
In: Journal of Cognition and CultureReligious-commitment signaling is thought to indicate willingness to cooperate with a religious group. It follows that a desire to signal affiliation and reap concomitant benefits would lend itself to acting in socially desirable ways. Success or failure in such areas, especially where there is conscious intent, should correspond to proximal indicators of well-being, such as psychosocial or biological stress. To test this model, we assessed religious-commitment signaling and socially desirable responding among a sample of Pentecostals with respect to salivary biomarkers of stress and arousal. Results indicate that cortisol levels on worship and non-worship days were significantly influenced by religious-commitment signaling when moderated by impression management, a conscious form of socially desirable responding. No significant influences on salivary alpha-amylase were detected. These findings are important for understanding how religious-commitment signaling mechanisms may influence stress response when moderated by socially desirable responding and the role of communal orientation to psychosocial health.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 408 | 64 | 6 |
| Full Text Views | 181 | 15 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 33 | 12 | 1 |