Chapter 12 Allport: Psychology of the Individual 377about it. It seems that both forgiveness and a more intrinsically motivated approach
to religion are both associated with greater mental health.
Religious Motivation and Physical Health
Previous research has found that, generally speaking, being religious is good for
your physical health. Attending church regularly tends to be associated with feeling
better and living longer (Powell, Shahabi, & Thoresen, 2003). But why this is the
case is not entirely understood. People who attend church may just tend to take
better care of themselves than those who do not. Or maybe there is something
unique about religion that encourages better health. One aspect of religion that may
affect the connection between religion and health is Allport’s concept of religious
orientation. Recently, researchers have begun investigating the health implications
of having an intrinsic versus extrinsic religious orientation. As we discussed in
Chapter 10, intrinsically motivated activities are usually better than those activities
that are extrinsically motivated. Therefore, researchers have predicted that those
who have internalized their religious values (intrinsic orientation) will be better off
than those who use their religion to meet some end (extrinsic orientation).
Kevin Masters and his colleagues (2005) conducted a study looking at reli-
gious orientation and cardiovascular health. Blood pressure rises and falls depend-
ing on a variety of factors including stressors in the environment, but sometimes
people experience chronically high blood pressure. When blood pressure is chron-
ically high, it places increased stress on the heart and is a major health concern
for many people, particularly older people, because it makes individuals more
susceptible to a variety of heart conditions including heart attacks. To examine the
relationship between religious orientation and high blood pressure, Masters and his
colleagues (2005) had 75 people between 60 and 80 years old come in to the lab
and complete the ROS and some tasks while the researchers carefully monitored
their blood pressure. The tasks were designed to be moderately stressful and likely
to raise blood pressure in people who are particularly prone to experiencing high
blood pressure. Specifically, the tasks involved completing some math problems
and a hypothetical encounter with an insurance company who is refusing to cover
a potentially life-saving medical procedure. The researchers found that, as pre-
dicted, those who held an intrinsic religious orientation did not experience the same
increased blood pressure that those who held an extrinsic orientation did. This
research demonstrated that an intrinsic religious orientation serves as a buffer
against stressors likely to be experienced in everyday life. Those who have an
intrinsic religious orientation likely encounter the same stressors as everybody else,
but their bodies react differently and in a healthier manner. There is something
about having a deep, intrinsic religious faith that helps people deal with everyday
stressors in a way that is not detrimental to physical health.
Religion can be good for one’s health, but in order to derive health benefits
from religion, it is important that people are being religious for the right reasons.
It is not enough to just go to church, temple, or synagogue once a week. A person
must be attending such services because he or she truly believes in the message
of his or her chosen religion and has internalized it as a way of living a good life.
It is also important to note that while Allport did consider religious commitment