Bernard Spilka

University of Denver · Department of Psychology

Capps' idiographic analysis of Augustine's Confessions is discussed in terms of Allport's possible contradiction in stating idiographic goals while embracing nomothetic theory and techniques. The necessity of a methodological complementarity for this type of work is stressed to reduce subjective bias. The question of Augustine's religious orientati...

Argues that despite the general tendency to keep religion separate from psychology, there is a place for it in psychotherapy. It is suggested that in addition to being a pervasive influence, religion relates to mental disorder in at least 5 ways: as an expression of abnormality, as a socializing and suppressing force, as a haven, as therapy, and as...

A formal theory demonstrating the applicability of attribution concepts and research findings to the psychology of religion is developed and discussed. First, an overview of attribution theory is presented, wherein it is argued that three basic needs or desires of people -- viz., for a sense of meaning, for control over outcomes, and for self-estee...

This study focuses on the relationship between the sexual attitudes and behaviors of 365 evangelical Christian singles and the degree to which they manifest intrinsic and extrinsic religious tendencies. Liberalism in sexual matters was demonstrated for certain behaviors; however, for others the sample was inclined to be conservative. Intrinsic reli...

The possible significance of nonverbal communication in terminal illness was evaluated in forty-nine terminal cancer patients. Utilizing the Ekman and Friesen Facial Scoring Technique, individual items were reassessed for reliability across judges and within each emotional measure. Factorial invariance was also demonstrated. Theory suggested a patt...

A formulation, general attribution theory, is presented and applied to the problem of God-attribution. Hypothesizing that religious attributions are a function of situational and stylistic factors, the present work deals with event-character and contextual influences which are aspects of the former. Twelve short stories picturing positive or negati...

Examination of text content reveals that authors do not reflect the increased interest in psychology/religion shown by other criteria.

Four theories of the origins of God concepts (Freudian, Adlerian, Social Learning, and Self-Esteem) were compared utilizing partial correlation techniques. The Ss were 198 Catholic youth from 3 parochial schools. Slightly more support was gained for the Adlerian and Self-Esteem positions than for the Freudian and Social Learning frameworks. Both me...

A cognitive consistency framework was adopted to predict that a believer's level of self-esteem and his location on the locus of control dimension influence his description and definition of God. On a sample of 128 Catholic subjects with approximately identical religious backgrounds, self-esteem was positively related to loving-accepting God-images...