The metaphysical factor of psychological essentialism: Exploration of antecedents and correlates of the belief in metaphysical determinism.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Johannes Keller
• Subject Area: Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 565395935

Lay theories form a central component of various psychological theories. Psychological essentialism represents one particular type of lay theory according to which objects and living beings have a core or essence which determines their characteristics (and behavioral tendencies). This essence is assumed to be residing deep within a person or object, giving rise to all their observable qualities. In social psychological research, the role of essentialist thinking with respect to stereotyping and prejudice has been addressed quite systematically. An underexplored issue is the differentiation of distinct factors of essentialist thinking. The current project makes a conceptual differentiation of distinct types of psychological essentialism by identifying the type of lay theory that is used to "explain" the origin of the postulated essential core. The lay theory can be biological (belief in genetic determinism; BGD); social (belief in social determinism; BSD) or metaphysical (belief in metaphysical determinism, BMD). BMD can be considered the “spiritual” factor of essentialist beliefs. It reflects individuals’ endorsement of a lay theory which acknowledges an explanatory factor not rooted in the physical world. Accordingly, this form of essentialist thinking can be described as metaphysical. This project provides a systematic test of BMD for the first time, aiming to validate a neglected factor of essentialist beliefs. Upon completion of this project, we will know whether (a) BMD is robustly related to the identified cognitive tendencies, basic motives and “outcomes”, (b) BMD has a causal effect on the set of identified criteria (punitive tendencies, conspiracy beliefs, etc.), (c) the observed relations are incrementally valid (when controlling for BGD and BSD), (d) the three factors of essentialist beliefs can be reliably differentiated, and (e) the observed relations and causal effects involving BMD are generalizable across different socio-cultural contexts, i.e., countries with a Christian (Germany), Buddhist/Shintoist (Japan) and Muslim (Turkey) religious background and with different levels of individualism-collectivism or tightness-looseness. Taken together, the present project contributes to a cumulative acquisition of knowledge regarding psychological essentialism with a special focus on the metaphysical factor of essentialist beliefs. The work programme focuses on the analysis of the relation of BMD (compared to BGD & BSD) to basic motives, specific cognitive tendencies and correlates applying both an individual differences as well as an experimental perspective. All studies will be preregistered before data collection. In order to address the robustness and generalizability of findings, replication studies will be conducted in two countries (Japan & Turkey) which represent cultural settings different from Germany.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants