Online Table
Reference / Method / Manipulation / Scales / Sample Characteristic / Results / Factors / Categorization- Rigoni, Kuhn, Sartori & Brass (2011)
Manipulation/Conditions:
1) no-FW group. Had to read a deterministic passage on consciousness from The Astonishing Hypothesis by Crick (1994)
2) Control group. Had to read a neutral passage on consciousness from The Astonishing Hypothesis by Crick (1994)
Task: Variant of the Libet experiment (120 trials). Scales administered post-task. / -Read a passage / -General subscale of FAD
-Personal subscale of FAD
-Other / -30 participants
-20 females; 10 males
-Age range = 18-24 years
-All right-handed
Effect of sample characteristics on result? No analyses conducted / Weakening BFW affects brain processes linked to motor preparation.
Effect sizes?
Larger readiness potential (RP; slow negative-goingwave thatreflects programming and preparation of movement) amplitude for control groups 2p=.086 (medium)
Lower amplitude of early RP for no-FW group 2p=.136 (large)
Slow negative increase in RP prior to motor response 2p=.639 (large)
Non-uniform increase in RP across scalp 2p=.229 (large) / -Physiology
-Cognition
-Volition / What is influenced by BFW/DT
- Rigoni, Kuhn, Gaudino, Sartori & Brass (2012)
Manipulation/Conditions:
1) no-FW group. Had to read deterministic statements.
2) Control group. Had to read neutral statements.
Task: Marble task for intentional inhibition by Kuhn et al. (2009) (3 conditions, 288 trials total). Scales were administered post-task. / -Read a passage / -General subscale of FAD
-Personal subscale of FAD
-PANAS
-Others / -40 participants
-21 females; 11 males
-Age range = 20-21 years
-All right-handed with normal or corrected-to-normal vision
Effect? No analyses conducted / Dismissing BFW reduces self-control (intentional/voluntary inhibition) and perceived self-control.
Effect sizes?
Reaction Times differed based on trial type2p=.878 (large) / -Physiology
-Cognition / What is influenced by BFW/DT
- Lynn, Van Dessel & Brass (2013)
Manipulation/Conditions: 1) anti-FW group. Had to read anti-FW statements during intertrial intervals.
2) Control group. Had to read neutral statements during intertrial intervals Task: 120 trials of thermal pain stimulation. Participants had to, or could choose to, inhibit or withstand the pain, depending on the type of shape (triangle, square, circle) presented to them. Scales administered pre and post-task. / -Read a passage / - FAD-PLUS
- PANAS / -48 participants
-36 females; 12 males
-All with normal or corrected-to-normal vision
Effect? No analyses conducted / Disbelief in FW significantly reduces intentional engagement in self-regulatory behaviors (i.e. adapting behaviors to contextual needs)
Effect sizes?
Anti-FW group slower to react when given the choice d=0.84 (large), but not on directed trials d=0.27 (small)
Control group inhibited less often than anti-FW group following directed action trials d=0.99 (large)
Anti-FW group tended to inhibit more often after an action trial, than an inhibition trial d=0.63 (medium). This was not the case for control group d=0.03 (small) / -Physiology
-Volition / What is influenced by BFW/DT
- Vohs & Schooler (2008)
Design: Experimental (Random Assignment)
Manipulation/Conditions: 1) anti-FW group. Had to read a deterministic passage from The Astonishing Hypothesis by Crick (1994)
2) Control group. Had to read a neutral passage on consciousness from The Astonishing Hypothesis by Crick (1994)
Task:
They were asked to complete mental mathematics on a computer, and had to choose between cheating or not. Scales were administered pre-task.
Experiment 2
Design: Experimental (Random Assignment)
Manipulation/Conditions: Cheating conditions: 1) FW group. Had to read and think about 15 statements pro-FW. 2) no-FW group. Had to read and think about 15 statements anti-FW 3) Neutral group. Had to read and think about 15 neutral statements. Non-Cheating conditions: 1) Baseline experimenter-scored group. No material to read. 2) Determinism experimenter-scored group. Had to read and think about 15 deterministic statements.
Task: Cheating condition: Had to complete GRE test samples. They were allowed to self-score, and pay themselves for each correct answer. Scales were administered pre-task. Non-cheating condition: Experimenters scored the tests and paid the participants. / -Read a passage / - FAD-PLUS
- PANAS / Experiment 1:
-30 participants
-13 females; 17 males
-All undergraduate
Effect? No analyses conducted
Experiment 2:
-122 participants
-46 females; 75 males; 1 not reported
-Data from 3 participants unusable
-All undergraduate
Effect? No analyses conducted / In both experiments, it was demonstrated that weakening BFW increases cheating behavior.
Effect sizes?
Experiment 1
No effect sizes reported
Experiment 2
No effect sizes reported / -Social / What is influenced by BFW/DT
- Rigoni, Wilquin, Brass & Burle (2013)
Manipulation/Conditions: 1) no-FW group. Had to read a deterministic passage from The Astonishing Hypothesis by Crick (1994)
2) Control group. Had to read a neutral passage from The Astonishing Hypothesis by Crick (1994)
Task: They completed 1h15min of the Simon task (4 blocks; 96 trials/block). Scales were administered pre- and post-task. / -Read a passage / -Scientific Determinism subscale of FAD
-Fatalistic determinism subscale of FAD / -44 participants
-30 females; 14 males
-All students
Effect? No analyses conducted / Disbelief in FW impairs post-error slowing (i.e. cognitive reactions to errors). Specifically, weakening BFW reduces the likelihood of error monitoring.
Effect sizes?
No-FW group had a reduced post-error slowing 2p=.12 (large)
No-FW group had reduced belief in intentional control 2p=.11 (large)
Slower reaction times after errors than after correct trials 2p=.48 (large)
All participants reported less negative emotions post-manipulation 2p=.34 (large) / -Cognition
-Social / What is influenced by BFW/DT
- Rigoni, Pourtois & Brass (2015)
Manipulation/Conditions:
1) no-FW group. Had to read a deterministic passage from The Astonishing Hypothesis by Crick (1994)
2) Control group. Had to read a neutral passage from The Astonishing Hypothesis by Crick (1994)
Task: Baseline and post-manipulation completion of a session of 360 trials of the go/no-go task while EEG was recorded. All scales were administered post-task. / -Read a passage / - FAD-PLUS
- PANAS / -33 participants
-26 females; 7 males
-Mean age = 23.14 (SD = 3.95)
Effect?
No analyses were conducted / Disbelief in FW alters early-stage error monitoring. Specifically, weakening BFW affects error monitoring at the level of automatic action monitoring processes.
Effect sizes?
Reaction times were slower for slow hits than for fast hits and errors 2p=.89 (large)
There was an effect of session on the different types of trials 2p=.11 (large)
Slower reaction times following errors 2p=.58 (large)
Participants were faster post-manipulation 2p=.46 (large)
Error-related negativity decreased uniformly in post-manipulation 2p=.12 (large), particularly for the no-FW group 2p=.17 (large)
Effect of site for change in early error positivity 2p=.35 (large)
Groups differed on their PANAS scores 2p=.14 (large) / -Cognition / What is influenced by BFW/DT
- Krueger, Hoffman, Walter & Grafman (2014)
Manipulation/Conditions: 1) Libertarian group (high BFW)
2) Determinist group (low BFW).
Task: Testing occurred in an fMRI scanner. In the experimental condition, participants had to read a vignette featuring a criminal offense and estimate punishment. In the control condition, participants had to estimate the number of syllables in each vignette. Scales were administered pre-task, allowing for assignment of participants to groups. / -Read a passage / - FAD-PLUS
- IRI
-SAM
-TAS-20 / -26 participants
-13 females; 13 males
-Age range = 20.3-31.7
-All right-handed with normal or corrected-to-normal vision
Effect?
No analyses conducted / High BFW is linked to a higher likelihood of punishing severely, in low affective cases. Also, high BFW is linked to significantly more activation in the right temporo-parietal junction.
Effect sizes?
No effect sizes reported / -Social
-Neurobiology / What is influenced by BFW/DT
- Baumeister, Masicampo & DeWall (2009)
Design: Experimental (Random Assignment)
Manipulations/Conditions: 1) FW group had to internalize BFW-related statements.
2) no-FW group had to internalize statements related to disbelief in FW.
3) Control group had to internalize neutral statements.
Task: Participants read 6 scenarios where they would have the opportunity to help others. They had to indicate the likelihood they would do so. Scales were administered pre-task.
Experiment 2
Design: Quasi-experimental
Manipulation/Conditions: All participants had their disbelief in FW measured using a short version of the FAD scale.
Task: Participants had to listen to a radio broadcast where a woman named Katie was portrayed as vulnerable and in need of help following a car accident. Participants were then asked how many hours they would be willing to help (0-9). Scales were administered pre-task.
Experiment 3
Design: Experimental (Random Assignment)
Manipulation/Conditions: 1) FW group had to internalize BFW-related statements.
2) no-FW group had to internalize statements related to disbelief in FW.
3) Control group had to internalize neutral statements.
Task: Participantswere placed in groups of 4-6 and asked to socialize. After asserting their partner-preference, they were randomly assigned to groups based on acceptance/rejection from other participants.After going through belief manipulation, they were asked to prepare food for their partner, and aggressive behaviors were measured through milligrams of hot salsa used. / -Read a passage / - FAD
- BMIS
-PANAS / Experiment 1:
-70 participants
-30 females; 40 males
-6 results excluded
-All undergraduate
Effect?
No analyses were conducted
Experiment 2:
-52 participants
-31 females; 20 males; 1 not reported
-All undergraduate
Effect?
No analyses were conducted
Experiment 3:
-56 participants
-45 females; 11 males
-All undergraduate
-7 participants excluded
Effect?
No analyses were conducted / Disbelief in FW reduces the likelihood of prosocial behaviors (e.g., decreased helping; increased aggression). In contrast, high BFW increases the likelihood of helping.
Effect sizes?
Experiment 1, no effect sizes reported
Experiment 2, no effect sizes reported
Experiment 3, no effect sizes reported / -Social / What is influenced by BFW/DT
- Lynn, Muhle-Karbe, Aarts & Brass (2014)
Manipulation/Conditions: All participants completed, in a counterbalanced order, 1) Control session. Read a passage of Francis Crick’s “The General Nature of Consciousness” (1995) and 2) anti-FW session. Read a passage of Francis Crick’s “A Postscript on Free Will” (1995).
Task: They completed both the intentional binding task and the Sato task (Counterbalanced). Scales were administered post-task. / -Read a passage / - FAD-PLUS
- PANAS-X
-LOC / -52 participants
-12 females; 40 males
-Age range = 18-24
-All students
Effect?
No analyses were conducted / Weakening BFW significantly reduces intentional binding, but not explicit agency ratings. Specifically, reduced BFW decreases the likelihood to implicitly feel in control of one’s actions.
Effect sizes?
When participants went through the anti-FW session, they reported stronger determinist beliefs d=0.211 (small)
Stronger BFW were expressed following control sessions d=2.366 (large)
Weakening BFW diminishes sense of agency d=0.248 (small)
Intentional binding significantly decreased post anti-FW session, in responder participants d=0.282 (small)
Intentional binding significantly increases post anti-FW session, in reactant participants d=0.093 (small) / -Cognition
-Affect / What is influenced by BFW/DT
- Zhao, Liu, Zhang, Shi & Huang (2014)
Design: Correlational
Manipulation/Condition: N/A
Task: Participants were asked to fill questionnaires with elements taken from the FAD-PLUS and Bogardus Social Distance Scale.
Experiment 2
Design: Experimental (Random Assignment)
Manipulation/Conditions: Participants went through a priming task for belief or disbelief in FW where they had to 1) Summarize in their own words 6 statements taken from the FAD-Plus scale and 2) recall their own experiences related to these statements. Task: They were instructed to indicate their attitudes towards Uyghur Chinese using a feeling thermometer based on that of Dasgupta and Greenwald (2001).
Experiment 3:
Design: Experimental (Random Assignment)
Manipulation/Condition: Participants were instructed to read a passage that was fabricated to be a paragraph from Science Magazine. Content varied based on the priming condition (belief/disbelief in FW).
Task: Participants had to fill the Pro-Black Attitude Measure in order to have their prejudice against black people verified. / -Read a passage -Summarize a passage / - FAD-PLUS
- Bogardus Social Distance scale
- Pro-Black Attitudes measure / Experiment 1:
-70 participants
-58 females; 12 males
-Mean age = 27.7
-All self-identified as Han Chinese
Experiment 2:
-34 participants
-24 females; 10 males
-All self-identified as Han Chinese
-All students
Experiment 3:
-63 participants
-29 females; 34 males
-Age range: 17-67; Mean age = 39.6 (SD = 15.0)
-Originated from South Africa (30.3%), Britain (24.2%), United States (9.1%), and other European countries (36.4%)
-All reported being White
Effect?
No analyses were conducted / All three experiments demonstrated that increased BFW correlates with less prejudices, or more pro-other race attitudes.
Effect size?
Experiment 1:
Greater Han Chinese BFW would significantly predict less prejudice against Tibetan Chinese: R2= 0.10. (small)
Experiment 2:
Warmer temperatures
towards Uyghur Chinese
in BFW condition d= 0.86 (large).
Experiment 3:
Greater pro-black attitude in BFW condition d= 0.82 (large). / -Cognition
-Social / Correlates of BFW/DT
What is influenced by BFW/DT
- Mackenzie, Vohs & Baumeister (2014)
Design: Correlational Manipulation/Conditions: N/A
Task: Participants were handed the Gratitude Questionnaire and the FAD-PLUS to fill online.
Experiment 1b: Design: Correlational Manipulation/Conditions: N/A
Task: Participants were handed the Gratitude Questionnaire and the FAD-PLUS to fill online, 1.5 years after experiment 1a.
Experiment 2:
Design: Experimental (Random Assignment)
Manipulation/Conditions: Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: pro-FW, anti-FW or control. Each group had to read and rewrite sentences relevant to their condition
Task: They were asked to write three prior life events where they felt grateful and rate how grateful they were.
Experiment 3:
Design: Experimental (Random Assignment)
Manipulation/Conditions: Participants were assigned to either read a pro-FW or anti-FW essay and were asked to summarize it. All participants then filled the PANAS questionnaire.
Task: Participants were then faced with a situation where they were asked to complete a task and then told by the experimenter that they did not need to do it anymore because someone else would. Finally, participants were told that the experiment was about person perception and were asked different questions.
Experiment 4:
Design: Experimental (Random Assignment)
Manipulation/Condition: Same as in experiment 3
Task: Participants then had to read a vignette where they needed to imagine themselves helped and their feeling of gratitude were then measured. Their perception of the value of help and the motivational sincerity of the character, as well as its FW, were measured. / -Read a passage
-Summarize a passage / -FAD-PLUS
- Gratitude questionnaire
-PANAS
-Other / Experiment 1a:
-91 participants
-37 females; 54 males
-Mean age = 31.8; SD = 13.6
Experiment 1b:
-59 participants
-43 females; 16 males
-Mean age = 36.7; SD = 12.9
Experiment 2:
-50 participants
-28 females; 22 males
-Mean age = 19.6; SD = 1.14
-All undergraduate
Experiment 3:
-42 participants
-34 females; 16 males
-Mean age = 19.7; SD = 2.81
-All undergraduate
Experiment 4:
-64 participants
-32 females; 32 males
-Mean age = 37.7; SD = 13.3
Effect?
No analyses were conducted (all experiments). / All four experiments show that reducing BFW contributes to feeling less grateful about recalled events, events that presently occur or fictional events where one should feel grateful. Thus, BFW seems to influence how one feels about others.
Effect size?
Experiment 1a: BFW is linked to feeling grateful for life outcomes d= 2.15 (large)
Experiment 1b: BFW is linked to feeling grateful for life outcomes d= 3.02 (large)
Experiment 2:
Participants who rewrote anti-FW sentences would report feeling less grateful than those in the pro-FW and neutral conditions: first recalled event η2 = .12 (medium); second event measure η2 = .08 (small); and disappeared entirely on the third measure.
For the first event, anti-FW participants were significantly less grateful than pro-free will participants d = .75 (medium).
Participants in the anti-FW condition also reported significantly less gratitude than those in the neutral control condition d =.71 (medium).
Experiment 3:
Participants in the anti-FW condition reported feeling significantly less grateful than those in the pro-FW essay condition: d = .64 (medium).
Participants in the anti-FW essay condition perceived the benefactor as being less sincerely motivated to help them than those in the pro-FW essay condition: d = .76 (medium).
Experiment 4:
Participants in the anti-FW condition reported feeling less grateful than those in the pro-FW condition: d = .57 (medium).
Participants in the anti-FW group perceived the benefactor as having less FW than those in the pro-FW group: d = .60 (medium).
Participants in the anti- FW condition perceived the benefactor as being less sincerely motivated than participants in the pro-FW condition: d = .70 (medium). / -Cognition
-Social
-Affect / Correlates of BFW/DT
What is influenced by BFW/DT
- Mogi (2014)
Task: Participants filled in an online survey about FW, paranormal beliefs and paranormal knowledge. / -N/A / -Other / -2076 subjects
-1087 females; 978 males; 11 other gender
-Mean age= 37.5
Effect?
No analyses were conducted / There were correlations between practical and theoretical BFW and paranormal beliefs. Specifically, high BFW correlated significantly with high beliefs in paranormal events.
Effect size?
No effect sizes reported / -Cognition / Correlates of BFW/DT
- Alquist, Ainsworth, & Baumeister (2013)
Design: Correlational Manipulation/conditions: N/A
Task: Participants filled out the Conformity scale, the FAD-Plus and some demographic questions online.
Experiment 2:
Design: Experimental (Random Assignment)
Manipulation/condition: Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: pro-FW, anti-FW or control. Each group had to read and rewrite sentences relevant to their condition.
Task: They were then asked to rate paintings on a scale from 1 to 9, and were provided with a package that contained the already rated paintings.
Experiment 3:
Design: Experimental (Random Assignment)
Manipulation/conditions: Participants were assigned to either the anti-FW, pro-FW, control condition, or a meaning-threat control condition. Task: They were asked to read sentences relevant to their condition, think about them and rewrite them. Then, all participants completed the Conformity measure, where they were asked to generate new product names to a range of different objects. / -Read and rewrite a passage / -FAD-PLUS
-Conformity scale / Experiment 1:
-39 participants
-22 females; 17 males
-Mean age= 37.8
Effect?
No analyses were conducted.
Experiment 2:
-54 participants
-Mean age= 18.8
-All students
Effect?
No analyses were conducted.
Experiment 3:
-73 participants
-50 females; 23 males
-All undergraduate students
Effect?
No analyses were conducted. / All three experiments demonstrated that disbelief in FW encourages conformity.