Doctoral Dissertation Research: Glossolalia Influences on Stress Response Among Apostolic Pentecostals

博士论文研究：词汇对使徒五旬节派压力反应的影响

• 批准号: 0819190
• 负责人: Lawrence Schell
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: SUNY at Albany
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-01 至 2009-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0819190&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Glossolalia; Influences

State University of New York (Albany) graduate student Christopher D. Lynn, supervised by Dr. Lawrence M. Schell, will test the hypothesis that the cultural phenomenon of Pentecostal glossolalia (speaking in tongues), a form of dissociation, has physical, stress-reducing benefits. Dissociation is a psychological construct for processes that partition consciousness to focus or reduce awareness. It appears in myriad forms, such as daydreaming or absorption in a book or television program. It occurs clinically in hypnosis or in pathologies such as multiple personality and is also a cultural phenomenon, as in shamanic spirit journeys or the possession trance of voodoo. Dissociation is often functionally interpreted as a means of reducing stress. Research suggests that other culturally-mediated dissociative practices (e.g., focused meditation) affect the physiology of stress response by increasing the threshold at which it is activated. This means such people experience less stress although the potential stressors in their lives remain the same. There are no studies testing a similar threshold mediation for dissociation in religious contexts. Pentecostalism is an excellent candidate for such research. It is a form of evangelical Protestantism that regards glossolalia as a gift and sign of the divine. To test the relationship between glossolalia and stress response, pilot study data were used to develop a questionnaire to measure glossolalia experience. Glossolalia experience will be compared to cortisol and alpha-Amylase levels, two biomarkers of stress reactivity, and to additional questionnaire measures of dissociation and self-perceived stress. In addition to glossolalia, the researcher will test the effect of cultural consensus on stress. Cultural consensus is the degree to which individuals live up to cultural models of behavior. This will be measured using questionnaires related to religiosity and faith maturity.This research is important because it will further scientific understanding of the relationship between culture and human biology. It also may have public health benefits because stress reduction reduces risk for many stress-related health problems. In addition, the research will contribute to the education of a graduate student.

纽约州立大学(奥尔巴尼)的研究生克里斯托弗·D·林恩在劳伦斯·M·谢尔博士的指导下，将测试这一假设，即五旬节语(用舌头说话)是一种分离形式，对身体有缓解压力的好处。分离是分割意识以集中或减少意识的过程的一种心理结构。它以无数的形式出现，比如白日做梦，或者沉浸在一本书或电视节目中。它在临床上出现在催眠或病理中，如多重人格，也是一种文化现象，如萨满精神之旅或伏都教的附体恍惚。解离通常在功能上被解释为减轻压力的一种手段。研究表明，其他以文化为媒介的分离练习(例如，集中冥想)通过提高应激反应的激活阈值来影响应激反应的生理学。这意味着这些人经历的压力较少，尽管他们生活中的潜在压力源保持不变。目前还没有研究测试在宗教背景下对分离进行类似的门槛调节。五旬节派是这类研究的绝佳候选者。它是福音派新教的一种形式，认为词汇是神的礼物和标志。为了检验舌音和压力反应之间的关系，我们利用先导研究的数据编制了一份问卷来测量舌音体验。舌症经验将与皮质醇和α-淀粉酶水平进行比较，皮质醇和α-淀粉酶水平是压力反应性的两个生物标记物，并与其他问卷测量的解离和自我感觉的压力进行比较。除了词汇，研究人员还将测试文化共识对压力的影响。文化共识是指个人在多大程度上符合文化行为模式。这将通过与宗教信仰和信仰成熟有关的问卷来衡量。这项研究很重要，因为它将进一步科学地理解文化和人类生物学之间的关系。它还可能对公众健康有益，因为减轻压力可以降低许多与压力相关的健康问题的风险。此外，这项研究还将有助于研究生的教育。