Autobiographical Memory Specificity for Religious and Nonreligious Cues: A Comparison between Atheists, Christians, and Religiously Uncommitted People in Sweden
Journal: Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion
Subject Areas: Religious Studies Cognitive Studies Linguistics
DOI: 10.1558/jcsr.40903
Abstract:
The aim of this study is to investigate religious autobiographical memories by having self-reported atheist, Christian and religiously uncommitted Swedes perform the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) with added religious word blocks. The specific aims are to investigate (1) possible group differences in memory specificity, (2) whether positive or negative cue words evoked a larger number of specific memories and (3) whether participants produced a larger number of specific memories in response to religious or nonreligious cue words. 60 participants were included, with 20 in each group (atheists, uncommitted, and Christians). No group differences in memory specificity were found. However, positive and nonreligious cue words were associated with a larger number of specific memories. The possibility of using AMT to study cultural differences is discussed.
Author: Nathalie Hallin, Paola Törnaeus, Wadad Mahmud, Gerhard Andersson
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