Dualistic beliefs effects on health behaviours

The philosophical stance of mind-body dualism suggests that humans are made of two distinct substances - an immaterial mind and a material body. Social cognition research suggests a link between dualistic beliefs and physical health (Forstmann, Burgmer, & Mussweiler, 2012). However, the reason for this link is unclear. Our research examines possible processes that connect these phenomena. In the first study of 100 randomly selected NZ residents, we replicated Forstmann's findings that dualistic beliefs are correlated with poorer self-rated health. In a pre-registered conceptual replication, we primed young adults with dualistic (or physicalistic) beliefs prior to measuring a variety of health indicators. Experimental results suggest that dualistic beliefs may diminish feelings of personal control over health outcomes. However, Forstmann et al's finding that dualistic belief primes strongly affect health-related behaviours is less clear our replication.