Supernatural Agency: Individual Difference Predictors and Situational Correlates

Barrett (2004) proposed that belief in God, ghosts, and other supernatural agents is cross-culturally ubiquitous because of a cognitive Hypersensitive Agency Detection Device with the propensity to find agents in the environment. However, supernatural agency experiences are not reported by all religious believers. A survey explored individual differences between those reporting never having had a spiritual, religious, supernatural, or paranormal (SRSP) experience (n = 284) and those who reported at least one (n = 299). SRSP experiences were associated with a distinct psychological profile, including higher scores on measures of positive schizotypy, thinner mental boundaries, and empathy; however, the difference in psychological profile was not specific to agentic SRSP experience. Experiences of nonreligious supernatural agency (n = 80) were more likely than other types of SRSP experiences to have occurred in a threatening and ambiguous environment and to be accompanied by increased negative affect, thus providing initial support for Barrett's hypothesis that the threshold for agency detection is lowered under such conditions.