Prosocial

FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN (PERAK CAMPUS)
UAPC 1024 Theories of Counselling and Psychotherapy
Year 1 Trimester 2 (201010)
Group Assignment
Topic: Effects of Spiritual Beliefs on Human Psychology

Tutorial Group : T3
Lecturer & Tutor : Mr. Mohammed Yusof Bin Dawood Gany
Submission Date : 15 November 2010 No. | Name | ID | | 1. | Ang Yi Qian | 09AAB03825 | | 2. | Lim Eu Chuan | 09AAB04288 | | 3. | Lu Wei Keat | 09AAB02531 | | 4. | Titus Choong En Guang | 09AAB05689 | | 5. | Wong Swee Li | 09AAB03333 | | 6. | Yu Sher Lee | 09AAB01126 | |

Table of Content No. | Content | Page No. | 1. | Introduction | 2 | 2. | Meditation – A Growing Interest for Researchers | 2 | 3. | Effects of Spiritual Beliefs | | | Effects on Psychological Well-being | 4 | | Effects on Attitude | 5 | | Effects on Personality | 6 | | Effects on Behaviours | 7 | | Effects on Lifestyle | 8 | 4. | Conclusion | 9 | 5. | References | 10 |

Introduction The interest of this study is to examine the effects of spiritual beliefs on human psychology. The term ‘spiritual beliefs’ used in this study is to encapsulate both religion and spirituality which are the subjects of interest in many researches. Past attempts to define and distinct them accurately are either too narrow or too broad (Hill, et al., 2000). Definitions which are too narrow resulted in research with limited value while, on the other hand, definitons which are too broad resulted in the loss of distinction between religion and spirituality (Hill, et al., 2000). Thus, the term ‘spiritual beliefs’ used hereafter refer to religious beliefs, self-defined doctrine, taboos, traditions, etc. It is found that spiritual beliefs have effects on several aspects of human psychology. The aspects which will be examined in this report are namely, psychological well-being, attitude, personality, behaviour, and lifestyle. First, the report will present the facts that spiritual beliefs promote positive thinking and emotions and alike or in other word, promote psychological well-being. Then, information will be presented on how people’s attitudes are affected by spiritual beliefs. Proceed after that, some light will be shed on the effects of spiritual beliefs has over people’s personalities. Next, readers will get to know the reasons behind how behaviours change according to beliefs. Lastly, we will examine how lifestyle is affected by individuals’ beliefs. This report ends with a conclusion in which sums up all the effects of spiritual beliefs on human psychology to highlight its significant. It poses no judgment and it is the readers’ right to follow and practice any religions and practices one believes in.
Meditation – A Growing Interest for Researchers In this section, meditation will be highlighted and the positive effects it may have on us will be brought to light for the knowledge of readers. Meditation has been proven to have profound effects on human psychophysiology and until 2009 there are over 400 published articles on the psychophysiological changes during meditation (Chopra, 1993; Pelletier, 1977 as cited in Sumter, Monk-Turner, & Turner, 2009). It is a fundamental practice in Buddhism whereby attention is consciously controlled to enhance well-being and to acquire insight (Cloninger, 2008). There are two major types of meditations which are concentrative meditation, one that focuses attention on an object, often the breath, and mindfulness meditation that allows thoughts to appear and observes them without judgment (Cloninger, 2008). In one study, meditation is showed to be capable of improving control of attention and perception (Cloninger, 2008). The study compromises of an experimental group which practices meditation twice a day was compared to a controlled group which do not meditate. The experimental group showed improvement in two perceptual tasks while the controlled group do not. Research by So and Orme-Johnson (2001 as cited in Cloninger, 2008) shows that meditation improves performance on tests of creativity, practical intelligence, field independence, and other cognitive tasks. It also helps the elderly to maintain their intellectual abilities (Nidich, Schneider, et al., 2005 as cited in Cloninger, 2008). Meditation even offers treatment of attention deficit disorder, it also been found to improve memory, intelligence, and academic performance (Walsh & Shapiro, 2006 as cited in Cloninger, 2008). Happiness can be increased by meditation, according to Richard Davidson (2005, as cited in Cloninger, 2008) that people are capable of regulating their emotion which in turn leads to increase of resiliency to adversity. Also, experienced meditators were found to be less affected by emotionally distressing video clip compare to a non-meditatiors group (Aftanas & Golosheykin, 2005 as cited in Cloninger, 2008). Meditation has become a popular alternative treatment for a variety of stress-related disorders, including hypertension, headaches, insomnia (Sumter, Monk-Turner, & Turner, 2009), and reported to reduce pain (Andersen, 2000 as cited in Cloninger, 2008). Self-report measures carried out by Grillani and Smith (2001 as cited in Cloninger, 2008) indicated meditation increases relaxation. An experimental study of healthy biotechnology employees documented reduced stress and improved immune activity as a result of meditation (Davidson et al., 2003 as cited in Cloninger, 2008). Davidson (2001 as cited in Cloninger, 2008) found meditative retreat enhances one’s own personal happiness and cultivates compassion towards other people, especially those with whom one has had conflict and those who are suffering. Many regard meditation as an activity that requires one to sit in a lotus position, to focus on one’s mind, and stopping our everyday behaviours. However, a meditative mind can present during everyday activities, increasing mindfulness (Cloninger, 2008). It was found that experienced musician and meditator could play complex music on piano with a meditative mind, with brain recordings showed trance (Kohlmetz, Kopiez, & Altenmuller, 2003 as cited in Cloninger, 2008).
Effects of Spiritual Beliefs
Effects on Psychological Well-being From the suggestion of attachment theory, people who experience a secure connection with God should experience greater comfort in stressful situations and greater strength and confidence in everyday life (Hill & Pargament, 2003). The situation can be describe as the metaphor of a child look to his or her parents for protection, people may look to God as a safe haven, providing comfort and protection during the time of stress. Such connection entails also lower level of physiological stress and lower level of loneliness. As people age, they become frail. This means they are dependent on others and disabled. The sense of well-being of older adults is often deteriorated by such condition. To maintain the sense of well-being, spiritual beliefs play an important role. In a study done in British examining 233 older adults suggested that spiritual beliefs are a significant direct and moderating resource in maintaining an otherwise lower sense of well-being (Kirby, Coleman, & Daley, 2004). Moreover, spiritual belief plays its part as a motivating force (Hill & Pargament, 2003). People will carefully and respectfully in relation to treating the aspects of life which they considered as sacred with and such sense of sacredness is an important source of strength, meaning, and coping (Hill & Pargament, 2003). Spiritual beliefs also provide people with a sense of their ultimate destinations in life and possible pathways to reach the aforementioned destinations (Hill & Pargament, 2003). A group of like-minded people with common spiritual beliefs are able to provide each other religious support which functions the same as other social support (Hill & Pargament, 2003). Fellow believers will often provide word of comfort and show compassion to each other especially when one is facing difficult challenges, such as bereavement and disability. Religious content of the support provided may further strengthen the effects of religious support, for example awareness of prayers being offered on behalf of the individual or belief that God is working through others (Hill & Pargament, 2003).
Effects on Attitude In this section, proves will be presented to illustrate the effect of spiritual beliefs may impose on people’s attitude. Attitude is defined as a positive or negative evaluation or belief held about something, which in return may affect one’s behaviour (Nairne, 2009). Kaldjian (2008) conducted a research on HIV-positive patients’ end-of-life decisions. The result shows that over 90% survey participants have strong spiritual beliefs. Almost all patients believed in a divine being called 'God ' (98%) whose love is unconditional (96%). Most patients expressed a personal relationship with God (84%), believed in God 's forgiveness (81%), and claimed to be at peace with God (76%). Half of the patients believed God sometimes punishes them (48%), but few were angry at God (8%). Despite believing in the great divine participants mostly are still in fear of their own death, although one-third of patients expressed a fear of death, most had a belief in God that was helpful when thinking about death (Kaldjian, 2008). As the examples show, spiritual beliefs play a role in aiding people facing death to cope with their thoughts of dying. It presents a positive relationship between spiritual beliefs and human attitude, in terms of helping people to maintain a positive attitude toward end-of-life and facing death. Margaret (2010), found that Americans overall are much more likely to pray, read scripture, or talk to a religious healer than to seek help from a mental health professional. It is very obvious that these people place more trust in spiritual beliefs than in mental health professionals. Their spiritual beliefs lead them to believe that seeking help from the religious healer will aid them in coping with their problems much more effectively and spiritual practices are capable of replacing medication. HIV-positive patients who face certain death perceive that God is help while others believe that spiritual healing is better than professional service; from the sources presented, it is undeniable that spiritual beliefs affect the way people perceive.
Effects on Personality The meaning and purpose that provided by the particular aspects or forms of spirituality are different for different people and different personalities of people are been associated (Jim Kennedy, 2009). In Eastern approaches for spirituality, the authoritarian personality can be influenced (Kennedy, 2009). For these with authoritarian characteristics, they are mainly able to establish and conform to authority in their life. These people are likely to form hierarchical organizations that emphasize setting and following rules and some authoritarian groups tend to have unfriendly tug-of-war with those who do not follow the rules or share the values. Thus, resulted in personality characterised by being organised. In addition, Jim Kennedy (2009) stated that an intellectual approach also can be resulted in religious authority people that with extensive knowledge of the details of religious beliefs and so for history. Therefore, some people are attracted to knowledge in the form of memorizing and analyzing writings, history and theories. This proves that spiritual beliefs may, in some degree, affect people to be knowledge-seeking. Maltby and Day (2001) concluded that researchers are likely to view the spiritual individual as engaging in a more open and reflective dialogue in the development of his or her beliefs, seeking new experiences, and attempting to establish a carefree and optimistic environment. Maltby and Day (2001) using this interpretation to argue that spirituality would be expected to reflect extraversion personality traits like sensation-seeking, optimistic, and carefree behaviors, rather than personality traits associated with Eysenck’s other personality dimensions.
Effects on Behaviour Spiritual beliefs not only affect mental health of human but also human behaviour. Religion which acts as one of the component of spiritual belief is a significant influencing agent on human behaviour. In earlier era, instead of just influenced human behaviour, religion had governed the origin of human behaviours (Yarbrough, n.d.). According to Payne (2010), belief and behaviour are developed through the oral and written spiritual belief. Spiritual belief guides an individual to make life decision or act according to their belief and attitude. Those acceptable behaviours reinforced by outsider and became a part of experience for an individual and individual tends to repeat the behaviour. In the way of view of religious belief, there are a lot of sins or forbidden behaviours such as alcoholic and premarital sex. Poulson et al. (1998) found that women that have religious belief consumed less alcohol and less likely to engage in premarital sex. Taboo (a form of spiritual belief) which defines as a prohibited behaviour based on moral belief or even religious belief. Different races and nations with differing cultures developed different taboos. Taboos control an individual schema of what to do and what not to do. Take Muslim for example, they will use their right hand when to present a gift or take something from others because Muslim considered left hand as unclean. There is a study about the taboo influence behavioural difference for Chinese and American. Taboo of Chinese believes the umbrella which pronouns as “san” in Chinese which have same pronunciation with separation – “shan”, so it is a taboo to present umbrella as a gift for friends or partner for Chinese (Chu, 2009). A study proven that 60% of Chinese disagree to present umbrella to their friends (Chu, 2009). On the other hand, when the survey carries out on westerner, 80% of they will present umbrella for their friends if their friends need it (Chu, 2009). From the overwhelming sources, we can ascertain that spiritual beliefs affect on human behaviour.
Effects on Lifestyle Lifestyle is can be understood as the way in which a person or a group of people lives and works (Hornby, 2005). Religious and spiritual beliefs are important part of human life that we needs for everyday living to deal with life’s joys and hardships. In the hierarchy of needs, the higher spiritual needs are at the top (Maslow, 1971). Maslow on spiritual life says that it is the basic component of “our biological life” (Maslow, 1971). Therefore, Spiritual plays an important role in human living style and human psychology. A large body of research conducted over the past 30 years suggests that there are significant yet complex associations among spirituality, religiosity and psychological functioning within the context of medical illness and/or impending death (Colleen McClain-Jacobson, Barry Rosenfeld, Anne Kosinski, Hayley Pessin, James E. Cimino & William Breitbart, 2004). Besides, research findings from the University of Michigan shows that religious involvement has a large impact on the lifestyles of students, especially in late adolescence. Students subject who consider religion is important in their lives and attend religious services frequently, have lower rates of cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and marijuana use, higher rates of seat belt use, eating fruits, vegetables, and breakfast, and lower rates of carrying weapons, getting into fights, and driving while drinking (Wallace & Forman, 1998). Several medical studies indicated that spiritual people exhibit less self-destructive behaviour such as suicide, smoking, and drug and alcohol abuse, but living with less stress, and a greater total life satisfaction (Dowshen, 2008).
Conclusion
Spiritual beliefs play a crucial role in our everyday lives as it imposes its effects on us even without our notice. It promotes psychological well-being, affects our attitudes, shapes our personalities, regulates our behaviours, and forms our lifestyles. There are also overwhelming evidences point out that some spiritual practices, especially meditation bring us enormous positive effects which span over several aspects like psychological, physical, and of course, spiritual. These can be properly harnessed as experienced meditators have proven it. In conclusion, our spiritual beliefs affect many aspects of our lives. Most of the time, people are unaware of such effect. It is also the aim of this report to bring this topic to light so that people are aware of it and facilitate people to informed decisions about their spiritual lives.

Reference
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References: Effects on Personality The meaning and purpose that provided by the particular aspects or forms of spirituality are different for different people and different personalities of people are been associated (Jim Kennedy, 2009) Effects on Lifestyle Lifestyle is can be understood as the way in which a person or a group of people lives and works (Hornby, 2005) Cloninger, S. (2008). Theories of Personality: Understanding Persons. U.S.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Dowshen, S. (2008, September). How Can Spirituality Affect Your Family 's Health. Retrieved October 29, 2010, from KidsHealth: http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/spirituality.html# Hill, P Hill, P. C., Pargament, K. I., Hood, R. W., McCullough, M. E., Swyers, J. P., Larson, D. B., et al. (2000). Conceptualizing Religion and Spirituality: Points of Commonality, Points of Departure. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour , 52-77. Hornby, A. (2005). Oxford Advanced Learner 's Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kennedy, J. (2009). Spiritual Views of Life: Different Forms of Spirituality for Different Personalities. 1-4. Kirby, S. E., Coleman, P. G., & Daley, D. (2004). Spirituality and Well-Being in Frail and Nonfrail Older Adults. The Journals of Gerontology , 123-129. Maltby, J., & Day, L. (2001). The Relationship Between Spirituality and Eysenck 's Personality Dimensions: A Replication Among English Adults. The Journal of Genetic Psychology , 119-122. Maslow, A. (1971). The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. New York: Viking Press. McClain-Jacobson, C., Rosenfeld, B., Kosinski, A., Pessin, H., Cimico, J. E., & Breitbart, W. (2004). Belief in an afterlife, spiritual well-beingand end-of-life. General Hospital Psychiatry , 484-486. Nairne, J. S. (2009). Psychology. Canada: Thomson Learning. Payne, P. (2010). Spiritual Beliefs in Early Family Experiences and Couples ', Co-Creation of Spiritual Beliefs during the Early Years of Marriage. U.S.: University of Arizona. Sumter, M. T., Monk-Turner, E., & Turner, C. (2009). The Benefits of Meditation Practice in the Correctional Setting. Journal of Correctional Health Care , 47-57. Wallace, & Forman. (1998). Religion 's role in promoting health and reducing risk. Health Education and Behavior , 721-741. Yarbrough, D. (n.d.). The impact of religion on human behaviour. Retrieved October 23, 2010, from Helium: http://www.helium.com/items/1362313-the-impact-of-religion- on-human-behaviour