Religion
Related: About this forumReligion does not make you love your neighbour - study
A team of behaviour experts asked a group of Malaysian people with different religious backgrounds to take part in a series of tasks involving sharing money with other participants. In one task people were given an imaginary sum of money and given the option of sending some to another participant. They were told that whatever they did not send they would be able to keep but also that the participant could chose to send some of it back which would then be tripled. They had to judge how generous to be. Participants included Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and non-religious volunteers
The team noticed that there was little difference between levels of co-operation and generosity when people knew nothing of the other persons beliefs and when they knew that they were of different persuasions. But when told that the other person shared their religion they were markedly more trusting and generous with the money.
Dr Robert Hoffmann, an Associate Professor of Economics at Nottingham University Business School and co-author of the report, said: One would imagine the charity inherent in many well-known articles of faith might have some impact on everyday behaviour. But we discovered no evidence of that when we examined what happens when people who are religious knowingly interact with those of a different or no faith. "
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9816803/Religion-does-not-make-you-love-your-neighbour-study.html
Well, we already know that religion does not automatically make one a better, more moral, or more caring (it may make one more of an asshole, but that study is still in the works.) but it is nice to have the hard facts, the data to support it.
Skittles
(152,964 posts)cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)Don't send aid to Haiti cause the do the voodoo. I was shocked by his remarks of course. But, I thought it wouldn't slow down aid. I was wrong.
rug
(82,333 posts)Malaysia? Where's the data?
struggle4progress
(118,039 posts)If interested, you can download it here: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1879266
I tracked it down because on general principle I do not take at face value anything I see in the Telegraph, as it has an abysmal record of trying to stir up controversy by misrepresentation
I've not read the paper carefully: so far I have skimmed it partially. The author is interested in modelling market behavior of large numbers of people, and for this purpose he wants to know how individuals behave. After a literature review, which suggests that many studies find no effect or effects opposite what the Telegraph reports, he conducts eight experiments, each using twelve (12) Malaysians
Thankfully, I have other things to do right now, so must depart. When I'm back, if I can stomach it, I shall wade through more of this boring shizz to see if I can learn anything
rug
(82,333 posts)I also am skeptical of the Torygraph and their propensity for sensationalizing and simplifying.
ETA: the study was published a year and a half ago. Must be slow news day at the Telegraph.
struggle4progress
(118,039 posts)and it is an unpublished "working paper" that involved testing "prisoner's dilemma" against 8x12 = 96 Malaysians
"Prisoner's dilemma" is, of course, a very strange game: the optimal strategy for each player is to say "fugg you, buddy" to the other player
tama
(9,137 posts)Not in anyway limited to religious identities. Nationalities, sports team fans, etc. etc.
There are also various philosophies and practices to overcome those limitations and expand the "in-group" to global etc. levels. How do you feel about such directions?
A lot of people read Obama's inauguration speech (or listened to it) and promptly expressed a great amount of support for every idea in it.
Then dissed it by expressing a great amount of hate for people not in their particular group.
Not limited to reading or hearing other's words. It's a commonplace to say that you value ignoring in/out group boundaries--and then in the next breath show how much you abide by them, support them, or even highlight them.
Funny things, we primates.
THEY started it first!!!
Leontius
(2,270 posts)to support their own bigoted opinion in this forum.