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Implicit Puritanism in American moral cognition

Author

Listed:
  • Eric Luis Uhlmann

    (GREGH - Groupement de Recherche et d'Etudes en Gestion à HEC - HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Andrew Poehlmann

    (Cox School of Management - SMU - Southern Methodist University)

  • David Tannenbaum
  • John Bargh

    (Yale University [New Haven])

Abstract

Three studies provide evidence that the judgments and behaviors of contemporary Americans are implicitly influenced by traditional Puritan-Protestant values regarding work and sex. American participants were less likely to display traditional values regarding sexuality when implicitly primed to deliberate, as opposed to intuition and neutral primes. British participants made judgments reflecting comparatively liberal sexual values regardless of prime condition (Study 1). Implicitly priming words related to divine salvation led Americans, but not Canadians, to work harder on an assigned task (Study 2). Moreover, work and sex values appear linked in an overarching American ethos. Asian-Americans responded to an implicit work prime by rejecting revealing clothing and sexually charged dancing, but only when their American cultural identity was first made salient (Study 3). These effects were observed not only among devout American Protestants, but also non-Protestant and less religious Americans.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric Luis Uhlmann & Andrew Poehlmann & David Tannenbaum & John Bargh, 2011. "Implicit Puritanism in American moral cognition," Post-Print hal-00575637, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00575637
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2010.10.013
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Suzanne Chan-Serafin & Arthur P. Brief & Jennifer M. George, 2013. "PERSPECTIVE —How Does Religion Matter and Why? Religion and the Organizational Sciences," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(5), pages 1585-1600, October.
    2. Michael Giebelhausen & Benjamin Lawrence & HaeEun Helen Chun, 2021. "Doing Good While Behaving Badly: Checkout Charity Process Mechanisms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(1), pages 133-149, August.
    3. T. Poehlman & Ravi Dhar & John Bargh, 2016. "Sophisticated by Design: the Nonconscious Influence of Primed Concepts and Atmospheric Variables on Consumer Preferences," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 3(1), pages 48-61, March.
    4. Kumar Padamwar, Pravesh & Kumar Kalakbandi, Vinay & Dawra, Jagrook, 2023. "Deliberation does not make the attraction effect disappear: The role of induced cognitive reflection," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    5. Shiva Taghavi & Michael Segalla, 2023. "Is Work an Act of Worship? The Impact of Implicit Religious Beliefs on Work Ethic in Secular vs. Religious Cultures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(3), pages 509-531, December.
    6. Tierney, Warren & Hardy, Jay H. & Ebersole, Charles R. & Leavitt, Keith & Viganola, Domenico & Clemente, Elena Giulia & Gordon, Michael & Dreber, Anna & Johannesson, Magnus & Pfeiffer, Thomas & Uhlman, 2020. "Creative destruction in science," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 291-309.
    7. Clinton Amos & Lixuan Zhang & David Read, 2019. "Hardworking as a Heuristic for Moral Character: Why We Attribute Moral Values to Those Who Work Hard and Its Implications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(4), pages 1047-1062, September.

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