Abstract

This study investigated the contributions of religious identity, religious commitment, and spirituality to prosocial behavior in undergraduate college students. Participants were asked to complete an online survey that included four measures: Religious or Spiritual Identity Salience Scale (RSIS), Religious Commitment Inventory—10 (RCI—10), Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES), and the Prosocialness Scale for Adults (PSA). Based on prior literature, I hypothesized that religious identity, religious commitment, and spirituality would each be positively correlated with prosocial behavior. Additionally, I hypothesized that prosocial behavior would be predicted by religious identity, religious commitment, and spirituality such that participants who are higher in religious identity, higher in religious commitment, and higher in spirituality would be more likely to engage in prosocial behavior. The original correlation analysis results supported the hypotheses that religious commitment and spirituality would each be correlated with prosocial behavior. The additional correlation analysis results supported the hypothesis that religious identity would be correlated with prosocial behavior. The original linear regression model found that spirituality and religious identity were significant predictors of prosocial behavior. However, the direction of the relationship was not as expected between religious identity and prosocial behavior, so an additional analysis was conducted. The additional analysis supports the hypothesis that religious identity is a significant predictor of prosocial behavior. However, religious commitment and spirituality are not significant predictors. These results reflect existing literature, but further research is needed to generalize the results to a broader population.

Advisor

Garcia, Amber

Department

Psychology

Disciplines

Psychology | Religion

Keywords

religious identity, religious commitment, spirituality, prosocial behavior

Publication Date

2023

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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