Sensing the presence of gods and spirits across cultures and faiths.

Hearing the voice of God, feeling the presence of the dead, being possessed by a demonic spirit-such events are among the most remarkable human sensory experiences. They change lives and in turn shape history. Why do some people report experiencing such events while others do not? We argue that experiences of spiritual presence are facilitated by cultural models that represent the mind as "porous," or permeable to the world, and by an immersive orientation toward inner life that allows a person to become "absorbed" in experiences. In four studies with over 2,000 participants from many religious traditions in the United States, Ghana, Thailand, China, and Vanuatu, porosity and absorption played distinct roles in determining which people, in which cultural settings, were most likely to report vivid sensory experiences of what they took to be gods and spirits.

Examining relations between performance on non-verbal executive function and verbal self-regulation tasks in demographically-diverse populations.

Self-regulation is a widely studied construct, generally assumed to be cognitively supported by executive functions (EFs). There is a lack of clarity and consensus over the roles of specific components of EFs in self-regulation. The current study examines the relations between performance on (a) a self-regulation task (Heads, Toes, Knees Shoulders Task) and (b) two EF tasks (Knox Cube and Beads Tasks) that measure different components of updating: working memory and short-term memory, respectively. We compared 107 8- to 13-year-old children (64 females) across demographically-diverse populations in four low and middle-income countries, including: Tanna, Vanuatu; Keningau, Malaysia; Saltpond, Ghana; and Natal, Brazil. The communities we studied vary in market integration/urbanicity as well as level of access, structure, and quality of schooling. We found that performance on the visuospatial working memory task (Knox Cube) and the visuospatial short-term memory task (Beads) are each independently associated with performance on the self-regulation task, even when controlling for schooling and location effects. These effects were robust across demographically-diverse populations of children in low-and middle-income countries. We conclude that this study found evidence supporting visuospatial working memory and visuospatial short-term memory as distinct cognitive processes which each support the development of self-regulation.

The Impact of COVID-19 and Religious Restrictions on the Well-Being of Ghanaian Christians: The Perspectives of Religious Leaders.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ghana government instituted a ban on social gatherings, including religious gatherings. To understand how the unanticipated restrictions and interruption in normal church routines affected the well-being of congregants in Ghana, we interviewed 14 religious leaders. Thematic analysis revealed psychospiritual impacts including decline in spiritual life, loss of fellowship and community, financial difficulties, challenges with childcare, as well as fear of infection. Religious leaders intervened by delivering sermons on hope, faith, and repentance. Some religious leaders sensitized their members on health hygiene and COVID-19-related stigma. The study sheds light on the perceived impacts of COVID-19 and restrictions of religious gatherings on congregants in Ghana.

Ban of Religious Gatherings during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impact on Christian Church Leaders' Well-Being in Ghana.

This study was conducted during a period of lockdown and ban on social gatherings, including religious gatherings, in Ghana. The restrictions were instituted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study was to understand how the well-being of Christian church leaders was impacted during the prohibition in terms of aspects of their vocation and religious practices. Fourteen Christian church leaders located in urban and rural settings in Ghana, with 5 to 32 years of experience, discussed how they and their families were impacted by the ban on religious gatherings in Ghana. Findings revealed negative impacts of the COVID-19 restrictions, including spiritual slacking, loss of fellowship, disruption of normal routine, pandemic anxiety, and financial stress. Positive impacts included increased faith, relief/reduced stress, and increased family time. These findings are discussed from psychological trauma and disaster response perspectives.

Similarities and differences in concepts of mental life among adults and children in five cultures.

How do concepts of mental life vary across cultures? By asking simple questions about humans, animals and other entities - for example, 'Do beetles get hungry? Remember things? Feel love?' - we reconstructed concepts of mental life from the bottom up among adults (N = 711) and children (ages 6-12 years, N = 693) in the USA, Ghana, Thailand, China and Vanuatu. This revealed a cross-cultural and developmental continuity: in all sites, among both adults and children, cognitive abilities travelled separately from bodily sensations, suggesting that a mind-body distinction is common across diverse cultures and present by middle childhood. Yet there were substantial cultural and developmental differences in the status of social-emotional abilities - as part of the body, part of the mind or a third category unto themselves. Such differences may have far-reaching social consequences, whereas the similarities identify aspects of human understanding that may be universal.

Cultural Models of Well-Being Implicit in Four Ghanaian Languages.

This contribution to the collection of articles on "African Cultural Models" considers the topic of well-being. Reflecting modern individualist selfways of North American and European worlds, normative conceptions of well-being in hegemonic psychological science tend to valorize self-acceptance, personal growth, and autonomy. In contrast, given the embedded interdependence of everyday life in many West African worlds, one can hypothesize that cultural models of well-being in many Ghanaian settings will place greater emphasis on sustainability-oriented themes of material sufficiency and successful navigation of normative obligations. To explore this hypothesis, we interviewed local cultural experts who function as custodians of religion and an important source of support for well-being in many Ghanaian settings. We asked participants to identify and explain models of well-being implicit in four Ghanaian languages (Akan, Dagbani, Ewe, and Ga). Participants were 19 men and 15 women (age range 32-92 years; Mean = 59.83; SD: 14.01). Results reveal some features of local models, including good health and positive affective states, that appear to resonate with standard understandings of well-being in hegemonic psychological science. However, results also provide evidence for other features of local models - specifically, good living (including moral living, material success, and proper relationality) and peace of mind - associated with a sustainability or maintenance orientation to well-being.

Premarital Counseling Practices among Christian and Muslim Lay Counselors in Ghana.

We examined premarital counseling services offered by Christian and Muslim lay counselors in Ghana. Participants including clergy, Islamic clerics, and laity practicing in four urban centers were interviewed. Thematic analysis showed that common issues covered include medical screening, beliefs and values, expectations, partner knowledge, roles and duties, sex, parenthood, financial management, communication, and conflicts. The findings offer important insight into religious premarital counseling in Ghana and contribute to the global literature on premarital counseling.

Emotion Norms, Display Rules, and Regulation in the Akan Society of Ghana: An Exploration Using Proverbs.

Proverbs are widely used by the Akan of West Africa. The current study thematically analyzed an Akan proverb compendium for proverbs containing emotion references. Of the identified proverbs, a focus on negative emotions was most typical. Emotion-focused proverbs highlighted four emotion regulation strategies: change in cognition, response modulation, situation modification, and situation selection. A subset of proverbs addressed emotion display rules restricting the expression of emotions such as pride, and emotional contagion associated with emotions such as shame. Additional themes including: social context influences on the expression and experience of emotion; expectations of emotion limits; as well as the nature of emotions were present in the proverb collection. In general, Akan emotion-related proverbs stress individual-level responsibility for affect regulation in interpersonal interactions and societal contexts.

Mass media constructions of 'socio-psychological epidemics' in sub-Saharan Africa: The case of genital shrinking in 11 countries.

Genital shrinking is a recurring phenomenon with about 180 reported cases in sub-Saharan Africa over the last two decades. Transcending national boundaries, it results in distress for victims, mob violence against accused perpetrators and mass panic which law enforcement agencies struggle to contain. This article examines mass media construction and framing of genital shrinking within a social representations theory framework. Our analysis suggests the following: (1) mass media reports are informed by lay and expert perspectives; (2) three stocks of knowledge are drawn on interchangeably, with culture constituting a core representation; (3) lay and expert perspectives overlap on cultural and common-sense explanations of genital shrinking; and (4) scientific explanations are limited to individual pathophysiology and psychopathology and do not inform public opinion. We consider the implications of understanding genital shrinking for improving mass media constructions and dissemination of information on 'socio-psychological epidemics' that may have scientific explanations.

If times change, should we throw away the hearthstone? Exploring (Dis) continuities in autonomy and decision-making in the lives of Ghanaian women.

This paper attempts to investigate continuities and discontinuities between traditional and modern representations of womanhood and female gender roles focusing primarily on family and work settings. Using approaches informed by Sociology, Cultural Psychology, and African Studies, the paper explores traditional views of womanhood encapsulated in (and also transmitted intergenerationally) through proverbs. This customary perspective is contrasted with the results of the Everyday Lives Survey from the Pathways of Women's Empowerment Ghana project. The survey investigated the nature of everyday life- education, work, decision making, access to institutions, and autonomy in relationships-in six hundred (600) adult women in both rural and urban communities in three regions of Ghana. We argue that although the times are changing, there have only been modest disruptions in the lives of Ghanaian women as far as issues of autonomy and decision-making in are concerned.

Disgust and contamination: a cross-national comparison of ghana and the United States.

The emotion of disgust, with feelings of revulsion and behavioral withdrawal, make it a prime emotion to aid in the avoidance of sources of contamination, including sources of potential infectious disease. We tested the theory that living in a region with a historically high prevalence of infectious diseases would promote higher levels of disgust and contamination sensitivity as a protective measure. A sample of undergraduates from Ghana (n = 103, 57 women), a country with a historically high prevalence of infectious diseases, showed significantly higher scores on scales assessing disgust, contamination, and disease susceptibility than a sample of undergraduates from the United States (n = 96, 58 women), a country with lower levels of disease threat. Contamination sensitivity mediated the national differences in disgust. Disgust connoting contamination also produced larger cross-national effect sizes than other types of disgust. Finally, a factor analysis on the Ghanaian responses to one of the disgust scales did not resemble the usual three-factor solution found in West. Taken together, the results were consistent with the hypothesis that a region with a higher prevalence of infectious disease threats would produce greater sensitivity to disgust and contamination than seen in lower disease threat regions. This first study on disgust in Africa showed that disgust sensitivity could differ considerably from that in the West.