Page 36 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 5

Empirical steps toward a Christian Psychology

lomon, Rosenblatt, Veeder, Kirkland, & Lyon, used their individualistically oriented cultural
1990). According to TMT, it is our worldview worldview to determine their current level of
that represses our anxiety about our own mor- life satisfaction. That is, if things are going well
tality and allows us to function as if our morta- for me in terms of individualistic criteria such
lity were not a threat to us. The idea behind the as my job, self-esteem, etc., then I rate my life
MS manipulation in TMT is that if people think satisfaction high compared to if those same fac-
about their own mortality, then they will react tors are not going well for me. For those in the
differently to worldview sensitive situations mortality salience condition the only significant
compared to people who are not thinking about predictor of life satisfaction was relationship
their mortality. This is based on the assumpti- with God, r2 = .245, p< .01. This finding sug-
on that awareness of mortality (mortality sali- gests that when participants’ Christian world-
ence - MS) produces high levels of anxiety in views were activated the Christian worldview
people, therefore triggering individuals’ world- was then used to determine the participants’
views. This manipulation has been shown to be current level of life satisfaction. That is, rather
effective in activating worldviews in numerous than self-esteem and other self-focused factors,
studies and is used here to activate participants’ factors related to one’s relationship with God,
worldviews to create a distinction between how such as progress in spiritual maturity, sense of
participants implicitly determine levels of life God’s presence or my purpose of life connected
satisfaction (control condition) and how they with others, determined one’s level of life satisf-
determine levels of life satisfaction based on action.
their activated (Christian) worldview (experi-
mental condition). Discussion
In sum, I hypothesized that in the control con-
dition participants would use their implicit, As hypothesized, results indicated that for those
cultural worldview to determine their levels of in the mortality salience condition, life satisfac-
life satisfaction because I do not think that for a tion is best predicted by the strength or quality
group with an average age of 23 they have had of one’s relationship with God. Further, for tho-
enough time to make their Christian world- se not in the mortality salience condition, the
view so automatic that it guides thought when quality of one’s relationship with God did not
not activated. For the MS condition I expected reach significance as a predictor for life satisf-
that participants’ Christian worldview would action. In fact, individualism was the best pre-
guide thought because the worldview had been dictor for the construct for those in the control
activated and therefore ones relationship with condition. The findings support the proposition
God should determine levels of life satisfaction that the worldview Christians explicitly express
rather than one of the cultural factors (indepen- verbally may not be the strongest factor in de-
dence/interdependence). termining thoughts, and perhaps behavior, rela-
tively early in one’s Christian walk. Specifically
Results for this study, not activating one’s worldview
leaves us subject to the guidance of our cultu-
As expected, the predictors of life satisfaction ral worldview. These worldview-based MS dif-
differed significantly depending on whether or ferences may then lead to different behaviors
not individuals were in the mortality salience and judgments depending upon whether or not
condition or not. Separate regression analy- one’s worldview has been activated.
ses were performed for life satisfaction in the These findings may seem surprising to some
mortality salience condition and in the control when we consider only our Christian walk, but
condition. For evaluating life satisfaction in the the overall pattern should not surprise those
control condition, the only significant predictor practiced in the field of clinical or counseling
was individualism (independence), r2 = .16, p< psychology. We can loosely compare the pat-
.01. This suggests that those who did not have tern found in these data with what is generally
their Christian worldview activated implicitly understood in the use of Cognitive Behavioral

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