Theory of Mind, Mentalizing, and Personal Prayer: A Cross-Cultural Study

Molly Townsend
Mentor: Dr. Laird Edman
Department of Psychology

Religious belief is typically based on the existence of an agent supernatural being with its own mental states, which indicates a relationship between religiously and the ability to mentalize, or to imagine the mind of another entity. The current study was conducted in Romania and examines this relationship through Theory of Mind and the experiences of personal prayer and supernatural evil; it also considers significant gender differences in its findings.