Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionIV. Dispositional Theories 13. Allport: Psychology of
the Individual© The McGraw−Hill^399
Companies, 2009Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Religious Orientation
Allport believed that a deep religious commitment was a mark of a mature individ-
ual, but he also believed that not all churchgoers have a mature religious orientation.
Some, in fact, are highly prejudiced. Allport (1966) offered a possible explanation
for this frequently reported observation. He suggested that church and prejudice
offer the same safety, security, and status, at least for some people. These people can
feel both comfortable and self-righteous with their prejudicial attitudes and their
church attendance.
To understand the relationship between church attendance and prejudice, All-
port and J. Michael Ross (1967) developed the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS),
which is applicable only for churchgoers. The ROS consists of 20 items—11 Extrinsic
and 9 Intrinsic. Examples of Extrinsic items are “The primary purpose of prayer is
to gain relief and protection”; “What religion offers me most is comfort when sor-
row and misfortune strike”; and “One reason for my being a church member is that
such membership helps to establish a person in the community.” Examples of In-
trinsic items include “My religious beliefs are what really lie behind my whole ap-
proach to life” and “I try hard to carry my religion over into all my other dealings in
life” (p. 436). Allport and Ross assumed that people with an extrinsic orientation
have a utilitarian view of religion; that is, they see it as a means to an end. Theirs is
a self-serving religion of comfort and social convention. Their beliefs are lightly held
and easily reshaped when convenient. In contrast, a second group of people have an in-
trinsic orientation. These people live their religion and find their master motive in their
religious faith. Rather than using religion for some end, they bring other needs into har-
mony with their religious values. They have an internalized creed and follow it fully.
Previous research has found that, generally speaking, being religious is good
for your health. Attending church regularly tends to be associated with feeling bet-
ter 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 re-
ligion that encourages better health. One aspect of religion that may affect the con-
nection between religion and health is Allport’s concept of religious orientation. Re-
cently, researchers have begun investigating the health implications of having an
intrinsic versus extrinsic religious orientation. As we discussed in Chapter 11, in-
trinsically motivated activities are usually better than those activities that are extrin-
sically motivated. Therefore, researchers have predicted that those who have inter-
nalized 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 chroni-
cally 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.
Chapter 13 Allport: Psychology of the Individual 393