On god-belief and feeling clean: Feelings of cleanliness are associated with feelings and behavior in daily life, particularly for those high in god belief

摘要

Recent work has shown robust associations between morality and cleanliness. However, it is not known whether this association is equally consequential for everyone. I predicted that individuals high (versus low) in god-belief would be more likely to draw upon feelings of cleanliness to represent their moral concerns. To test this hypothesis, I used a two week daily sampling protocol. In an initial session, I measured participants’ (N = 135) level of god-belief. I then measured participants’ levels of daily cleanliness, neuroticism, impulsivity, and prosocial behaviors every evening. Daily feelings of cleanliness predicted lower levels of neuroticism, but only for those high in god-belief. Daily impulsive behaviors predicted lower feelings of cleanliness and daily prosocial behaviors predicted higher feelings of cleanliness. God-belief moderated these effects such that they were stronger for those higher, than lower, in god-belief. In closing, I discuss potential reasons for these moderation effects and other theoretical considerations.