Intergroup conflict and beliefs in supernatural entities concerned with moral behavior

对超自然实体的信仰通常被认为会引发群体间的冲突和战争，尽管最近的研究强调，道德上相关的认知也可以缓和冲突。这项研究的目标是建立一个理论框架，使我们能够理解、预测和模拟超自然实体的信仰如何影响群体之间的关系，有时鼓励合作和宽容，有时促进冲突。在研究与道德相关的认知如何在群体间关系中产生不同结果的过程中，这项研究有可能为我们提供一种范式转换，让我们理解信仰如何塑造并继续影响生活在多样化、复杂社会中的人类之间的合作。在更广泛的层面上，这项研究将有助于建立以证据为基础的方法，以促进积极的关系。本研究旨在阐明对与人类道德行为有关的超自然实体(“大神”)的信仰如何在群体间互动中影响决策。这涉及开发和测试一个理论框架，以解释这种信念有时会加剧群体间冲突，但有时会减弱群体间冲突。该框架基于以下几点：(1)大神信仰提高了对道德规范的忠诚度。(2)要了解大神信仰如何影响群体间关系，我们必须了解与特定群体间背景相关的规范。(3)人类以灵活的方式做出道德决定，在某些情况下(例如，当公平/互惠发挥作用时)，有利于群体间的合作，但在其他情况下(例如，当忠诚发挥作用时)，狭隘的利他主义。因此，(4)大神信仰对群际行为的影响取决于特定群际情境所引发的道德动机。研究小组在不同冲突程度和不同人群的背景下，通过现场和在线实验来测试这一理论。在整个研究中，参与者在不同群体的背景下做出经济和道德决定。这使得测试认知如何增强对情景特定规范的保真度成为可能。研究团队聘请了社会心理学、政治心理学和人类学学者的互补人才，他们在冲突与合作方面具有专长，并相互合作，在拟议的研究地点进行田野调查。这项研究发展了理论，同时也为政策制定者提供了现实世界的相关性。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Belief in supernatural entities is often assumed to motivate inter-group conflict and war although recent research highlights that morally relevant cognitions can also de-escalate conflict. The goal of this research is to develop a theoretical framework that will allow us to understand, predict and model how beliefs in supernatural entities influences inter-group relations, sometimes encouraging cooperation and tolerance, and at other times promoting conflict. In examining how morally relevant cognition can produce divergent outcomes in inter-group relations, this research has the potential to offer a paradigm shift in our understanding of how beliefs may have shaped, and continue to influence, cooperation between humans living in diverse, complex societies. At a broader level, this research will help to build a foundation for evidence-based approaches to facilitate positive relations. This research aims to elucidate how belief in supernatural entities concerned with human moral behavior (“big gods”) influences decision making in inter-group interactions. This involves developing and testing a theoretical framework to explain how such beliefs can sometimes exacerbate, but at other times attenuate, inter-group conflict. The framework rests on the following: (1) Big god beliefs enhance fidelity to moral norms. (2) To understand how big god beliefs influence inter-group relations, we must understand the norms associated with particular inter-group contexts. (3) Humans make moral decisions in a flexible manner, favoring inter-group cooperation in some situations (e.g., when fairness/reciprocity is functional), but parochial altruism in other situations (e.g., when loyalty is functional). Thus, (4) the effect of big god beliefs on inter-group behavior will depend on the moral motives elicited by specific inter-group situations. The research team tests this theory with field and online experiments in contexts that vary in their degree of conflict and with diverse populations. Across studies, participants make economic and moral decisions in inter-group contexts. This allows testing how cognition enhances fidelity to situationally specific norms. The research team employs complementary talents of scholars in social psychology, political psychology, and anthropology who have expertise in conflict and cooperation and who have collaborated with each other to conduct fieldwork in the proposed research sites. This research advances theory while also providing real-world relevance for policy makers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.