Does Ancestor Priming Decrease the Antisocial Behaviors in Japanese Adults?

Abstract Research suggests that priming supernatural agents (e.g., God of monotheistic religions) can promote altruistic behavior and inhibit selfish behavior in Western contexts. However, a replication study examining the effects of “God” priming on the prosocial behavior of Japanese university students found no significant differences. This study shifted focus to Japanese folk beliefs, exploring whether priming “ancestors” influences prosocial and antisocial behaviors. A web‐based experiment with 70 Japanese adults ( M age = 53.09 years, SD age = 14.33 years) revealed that participants in the ancestor priming group, who answered questions about their ancestors, were less likely to report that they would keep a wallet found on the roadside than the participants in the control priming group, who responded to questions about flowers and plants. This finding suggests that ancestor priming may inhibit antisocial behavior in Japanese adults, comparable to the effects of God priming among monotheistic believers. The study discusses the possibility that the effects of religious priming extend beyond monotheistic frameworks.