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University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Conditional reflection and the Religion Reflection Scale: How familiarity with different domains influences cognitive reflection

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

A host of research has shown that those who are nonreligious tend to outscore those who are religious on measures of intelligence and cognitive reflection. The prevailing explanation for this phenomenon is that nonreligious people are more adept at overriding their initial intuitions, thus leading to their increased skepticism of intuitive supernatural beliefs. However, the argument is raised in this investigation that the current measures of cognitive reflection in the field may not encapsulate the totality of dual-process thinking. Just as math students outperform upper-level psychology students on measures of cognitive reflection related to their discipline (Study 1), so, too, may religious individuals outperform nonreligious individuals on measures of cognitive reflection relating to their discipline of familiarity: religion (Study 2). While support for this second hypothesis was wanting, special considerations should be given to find measures of cognitive reflection that appeal to the unique experiences of specific groups in question.

Degree

thesis:*
Grantor dc:publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Strimaitis, Jacob
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Hood, Ralph W., Jr., 1942-
  • Biderman, Michael D.; Ross, David F.
  • College of Arts and Sciences

Subjects

dc:subject × 2

Rights

dc:rights
Language dc:language
English, eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/556
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1702

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Tennessee - Chattanooga
Base URL
scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Strimaitis, Jacob. Conditional reflection and the Religion Reflection Scale: How familiarity with different domains influences cognitive reflection. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/556