Poster #6 - Children’s Concepts of God: Longitudinal Trajectories and Gender Differences

• In Event: Poster Session 16

Abstract

Cross-sectional research on children’s concepts of supernatural agents has shown relatively consistent developmental trends (Heiphetz et al., 2016; Lane et al., 2012; Richert et al., 2016; Richert et al., 2017; Shtulman, 2008); as children get older, they anthropomorphize supernatural agents less. While the specific developmental mechanisms are still being determined, the general consensus is preschool-aged children begin by reasoning about God’s mind and properties by generalizing from their concepts of human beings. Then during the course of early childhood, cultural input leads them to conceptualize God as uniquely different from humans (Heiphetz et al., 2016; Richert et al., 2017).

The current study examined children’s anthropomorphic concept of God using a longitudinal design to determine if the previously established developmental trajectories are due to age-related development. Additionally, the current study examined gender differences in children’s concepts. Fifty children from the Southern California area were interviewed six times over the course of three to five years. Children’s (56% female) ages at wave 1 ranged between 3 and 6 years old (M = 4.39, SD = .65).

Children answered 9 questions about anthropomorphic properties of God in three domains: psychological (e.g., can God forget), biological (e.g., does God need to eat), and physical (can you touch God). Participants responded on a 4-point scale, ranging from No-Really Sure (-2) to Yes-Really Sure (+2). Responses were averaged for an overall anthropomorphism score. A positive score indicates the child anthropomorphized God and a negative score indicated children did not anthropomorphize God.

Using a 6 x 2 Repeated Measures ANOVA, timepoint (waves 1 through 6) was examined as the within-subjects factor, and gender as the between-subjects factor. A significant main effect of timepoint was found, F (5, 240) = 5.99, p < .001, η_p^2 = .11. As seen in Figure 1, children’s anthropomorphism of God decreased at each subsequent timepoint. A significant main effect of gender was found, F (1, 48) = 10.14, p = .004, η_p^2 = .17, such that girls anthropomorphized God more than boys. There was no significant interaction, F (5, 240) = 0.57, p = .73, η_p^2 = .01.

Overall, the current study is the first longitudinal evidence that children’s concept of God becomes less anthropomorphic during the course of early childhood. Additionally, as found in previous research (Richert et al., 2016), girls consistently anthropomorphize God more than boys during this stage of childhood.

Authors

• Nicholas John Shaman, University of Houston - Clear Lake
  Presenting Author

• Rebekah Richert, University of California - Riverside