Death and Science
Despite overwhelming evidence for Darwin's theory of evolution (ET) and scientific consensus that intelligent design theory (IDT) is inherently unscientific, IDT has received considerable support from the general public, educators, and elected officials. Many schools include IDT in science curricula; 25% of U.S. high-school biology teachers devote at least some class time to the topic, and nearly half of those view IDT as a “valid scientific alternative to Darwinian explanations for the origin of species.” Although a Dover, PA, court ruled in 2005 that schools could not include IDT in Pennsylvania science curricula, the debate is far from over. In 2008, Louisiana passed a bill permitting science teachers to use outside sources—including those supporting IDT—in curricula, and in 2009 the Texas state education board voted to allow IDT to be taught alongside ET in science classes.
This debate is not restricted to the U.S.; in 2006 the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (a major branch of the nation's federal research funding agency) refused to fund research examining the (presumably negative) effects of IDT's notoriety, on the grounds that there was not “adequate justification for the assumption that the theory of Evolution, and not Intelligent Design, was correct.” In 2009, the province of Alberta passed a law that may allow parents to remove children from courses covering evolution. Given this international climate of continuing support for IDT and doubt about ET, despite IDT's lack of scientific credibility and the large body of scientific evidence supporting ET, it is likely that psychological motives, beyond logic and reasoning, underlie the willingness of educated individuals such as teachers and school board members to question ET and accept IDT as a viable alternative.
Indeed, psychological motives, which often operate implicitly, can shape sociopolitical beliefs and ideologies. A comprehensive meta-analysis found that political conservatism is at least partly rooted in the basic need to manage feelings of threat and uncertainty. Specifically, conservative attitudes relate positively to death anxiety, intolerance of ambiguity, and low self-esteem. Other research shows that increasing existential anxiety by reminding people of their own mortality influences attitudes toward hypothetical political candidates, actual political figures, and foreign-policy strategies. Thus, although dispositional political and religious ideologies may be central factors underlying the success of the IDT movement and corresponding doubt about ET, fundamental psychological motives, such as the need to maintain psychological security, are also likely to influence these beliefs when activated. (Cognitive processes also play a role in shaping these views; studies have shown that young children, and adults with Alzheimer's who cannot remember learned knowledge about the origins of objects, tend to show a preference for teleological and other essentialist explanations for the origins of objects and organic phenomena).
In the present research, they examined whether implicit concerns stemming from individuals' awareness of their own mortality might be a cause of the widespread support for IDT and corresponding skepticism of ET seen among a wide range of individuals in North America. Researchers tested the hypothesis that heightened mortality awareness would lead individuals to embrace IDT and reject ET; in other words, that shifting one's opinion on these theories is a “terror management” strategy—stimulated by the basic need to maintain psychological security.
Tracy JL, Hart J, Martens JP.
Death and Science: The Existential Underpinnings of Belief in Intelligent Design and Discomfort with Evolution. PLoS ONE 2011;6(3):e17349.
PLoS ONE: Death and Science: The Existential Underpinnings of Belief in Intelligent Design and Discomfort with Evolution
The present research examined the psychological motives underlying widespread support for intelligent design theory (IDT), a purportedly scientific theory that lacks any scientific evidence; and antagonism toward evolutionary theory (ET), a theory supported by a large body of scientific evidence. We tested whether these attitudes are influenced by IDT's provision of an explanation of life's origins that better addresses existential concerns than ET. In four studies, existential threat (induced via reminders of participants' own mortality) increased acceptance of IDT and/or rejection of ET, regardless of participants' religion, religiosity, educational background, or preexisting attitude toward evolution. Effects were reversed by teaching participants that naturalism can be a source of existential meaning (Study 4), and among natural-science students for whom ET may already provide existential meaning (Study 5).
These reversals suggest that the effect of heightened mortality awareness on attitudes toward ET and IDT is due to a desire to find greater meaning and purpose in science when existential threats are activated.
