Belief Systems and Executive Functioning

Perceiving our world is an active process. We actively explore and investigate the
environment rather than passively registering the objects and events we encounter. Our
perception and attention reflect our moods, expectations, and beliefs. Recent evidence supporting
this approach comes from studies that focus on the impact of individual differences on human
perception and attention. Characteristics about the world we live in, such as culture or religion,
may drive these differences in perception and attention. One of the ways these differences have
been looked at is by examining executive functioning. Inhibitory control, the ignoring of
irrelevant information, is an important component of executive functioning. The Simon, Flanker,
and Stroop tasks are all common measures of inhibitory control. They all require to some degree
the inhibition of irrelevant information when selecting an appropriate response to stimuli.
Previous research has indicated differences in cognitive functioning for those of different
political beliefs. Differences are seen in perception of multi-level stimuli in people of different
cultures and religions and for people with different political leanings. Previous research has
found similar differences in performance on a measure of executive functioning for people of
different religions. The expected effects for the Simon and Flanker task were found in this
sample; however, differences in the size of the Simon and Flanker effect were not found in this
sample for those of different religious beliefs or political beliefs.