Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship of religiosity, irrational beliefs and sex towards a disposition to the production of guilt in normal Pakistani adults. ;Two hundred and eighty-two Pakistani adults were recruited from a variety of settings in Pakistan. Subjects were included from almost all geographical regions, including Quetta, Peshawer, Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, selected on the basis of presumed levels of religiosity. ;The total sample included 140 males and 142 females, ranging in age from 18 to 65. Mean family income was 50,000 to 59,000 rupees per annum and mean education level was a bachelor's degree. ;Subjects were approached personally and asked if they would like to participate in a study about guilt. At first, the word guilt was offensive to the subjects. Therefore, they were later approached by asking whether they would like to participate in a study about religion, religiosity, and irrational beliefs, and what effect religiosity has on one's feeling when he has done something wrong. ;All subjects first completed the Rohrbaugh and Jessor Religiosity Scale, followed by the Kassinove and Berger Survey of the Personal Beliefs and then the Klass Guilt Scale. The entire procedure took one to two hours. ;A multiple regression design was used to determine the predictive value of each of the variables on the criterion of guilt. The results showed that each of the scales, when translated into Urdu, was reliable in the Pakistani culture. However, the alpha levels were somewhat lower than in American samples. As expected, the Pakistani sample was more religious than typical American samples. In addition, the Pakistani sample was less rational than typical American samples. Finally, women reported more guilt than men. With regard to the prediction of guilt, only sex was significant. Thus, the hypothesis which predicted that irrational beliefs and religiosity would contribute to guilt was not supported. ;The importance of continued cross-cultural research in this area was stressed. Given the emerging changes in third world countries, especially with regard to the role of women, many new subject pools will become available to re-examine hypotheses generated in the American culture