Publications

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Journal articles

Note that some articles may be shown multiple times if they fall under multiple headers. For a list by year, see C V.

Belief

Messick, K.J., Jong, J., van Mulukom, V. & Farias, M. (in press). The Nontheistic Sacred: The Psychological Functions of Metal Music and Artefacts. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion

van Mulukom, V., Turpin, H., Haimila, R., Purzycki, B. G., Bendixen, T., Kundtová Klocová, E., Řezníček, D., Coleman, T. J. III, Maraldi, E., Sevinç, K., Schjoedt, U., Rutjens, B., & Farias, M. (2022). What do non-religious non-believers believe in? Secular worldviews around the world. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality 15(1), 143-156. DOI pdf

Hoogeveen, S., Sarafoglou, […] van Mulukom, V. […], van Elk, M., and Wagenmakers, E. (2022). A many-analysts approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 1-47. DOI

Brown, J., van Mulukom, V., Jong, J., & Farias, M. (2022). Exploring the Relationship Between Church Worship, Social Bonding, and Moral Values. Archive for the Psychology of Religion 44(1), 3-22. DOI

van Mulukom, V., Pummerer, L., Alper, S., Bai, M. H., Čavojová, V., Farias, J. E. M., Kay, C. S., Lazarevic, L., Lobato, E. J. C., Marinthe, G., Pavela Banai, I., Šrol, J. & Žeželj, I. (2022). Antecedents and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: a systematic review. Social Science & Medicine 301, 114912. DOI (open access)

van Mulukom, V. & Lang, M. (2021). Religious Experiences Are Interpreted through Priors from Cultural Frameworks Supported by Imaginative Capacity Rather Than Special Cognition. Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion 7(1): 39-53. DOI

Brown, J., van Mulukom, V., Charles, S.J., & Farias, M. (2021). Do You Need Religion to Enjoy the Benefits of Church Services? Social Bonding, Morality and Quality of Life Among Religious and Secular Congregations. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. DOI

van Mulukom, V. (2019). The Cognitive Science of Imagination and Religion. Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion 5(1), 5-20. DOI pdf

Farias, M., van Mulukom, V., Kahane, G., Kreplin, U., Joyce, A., Soares, P., Oviedo, L., Hernu, M., Rokita, K., Savulescu, J., Möttönen, R. (2017). Supernatural Belief Is Not Modulated by Intuitive Thinking Style or Cognitive Inhibition. Scientific Reports 7(1), 15100. DOI

van Mulukom, V. (2017). Remembering Religious Rituals: Autobiographical Memories of High-Arousal Religious Rituals Considered from a Narrative Processing Perspective. Religion, Brain & Behavior 7(3), 191-205. DOI

Imagination

van Mulukom, V. & de Wet, M. (2022). The Importance of Narrative and Intuitive Thought in Navigating our Realities. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture 5(2), 61-64. DOI

van Mulukom, V. (2021). The evolution of music as artistic cultural innovation expressing intuitive thought symbolically (commentary on ‘Music as a coevolved system for social bonding’ by Savage et al.). Behavioral and Brain Sciences 44:e91. DOI

Wiebels, K., Addis, D.R.., Moreau, D., van Mulukom, V., Onderdijk, K.E., & Roberts, R. P. (2020) Relational processing demands and the role of spatial context in the construction of episodic simulations. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 46(8), 1424–1441. DOI

van Mulukom, V. (2019). The Cognitive Science of Imagination and Religion. Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion 5(1), 5-20. DOI pdf

Roberts, R.P., Wiebels, K., Sumner, R.L., van Mulukom, V., Grady, C.L., Schacter, D.L., Addis, D.R. (2016). An fMRI investigation of the relationship between future imagination and cognitive flexibility. Neuropsychologia 95, 156-172. DOI

van Mulukom, V., Schacter, D.L., Corballis, M.C., & Addis, D.R. (2016). The degree of disparateness of event details modulates future simulation construction, plausibility, and recall. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 69.2, 234-242. DOI

van Mulukom, V., Schacter, D.L., Corballis, M.C., & Addis, D.R. (2013). Re-Imagining the Future: Repetition Decreases Hippocampal Involvement in Future Simulation. PLoS One 8(7): e69596. DOI

Tunçgenç, B., van Mulukom, V., & Newson, M. (2023) Social bonds are related to health behaviours and positive wellbeing globally. Science Advances 9(2), eadd3715. DOI

Charles, S. J., van Mulukom, V., Saraswati, A., Watts, F., Dunbar, R. I. M., Farias, M. (2022). Bending and Bonding: A randomized controlled trial on the socio-psychobiological effects of spiritual versus secular yoga practice on social bonding. Current Psychology. DOI postprint

Muzzulini, B. van Mulukom, V., Kapitány, R. & Whitehouse, H. (2022). Shared Flashbulb Memories lead to Identity Fusion: Recalling the Defeat in the Brexit Referendum Produces Strong Psychological Bonds among Remain Supporters. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition 11(3), 374–383. DOI

Newson, M., Khurana, R., Cazorla, F., and van Mulukom, V. (2021). ‘I get high with a little help from my friends’ – how raves can invoke identity fusion and lasting co-operation via transformative experiences. Frontiers in Psychology 12:719596. DOI

Charles, S. J., van Mulukom, V., Brown, J. E., Watts, F., Dunbar, R. I. M., Farias, M. (2021). United on Sunday: The effects of secular rituals on social bonding and affect. PLOS One: e0242546. DOI

Tasuji, T., Reese, E., van Mulukom, V., & Whitehouse, H. (2020). Band of Mothers: Childbirth as a Female Bonding Experience. PLOS One 15(10): e0240175. DOI

Charles, S. J., Farias, M., van Mulukom, V., Saraswati, A, Watts, F., Dein, S., Dunbar, R. I. M. (2020). Blocking mu-opioid receptors inhibits social bonding in rituals. Biology Letters 16, 20200485. DOI

van Mulukom, V., Patterson, R., & van Elk, M. (2020) Broadening Your Mind to Include Others: Links between serotonergic psychedelic experiences and maladaptive narcissism. Psychopharmacology 237, 2725–2737. DOI

Wellbeing

Tunçgenç, B., van Mulukom, V., & Newson, M. (2023) Social bonds are related to health behaviours and positive wellbeing globally. Science Advances 9(2), eadd3715. DOI

Newson, M. van Mulukom, V., and Johns, S. (2022). Future orientation is associated with less lockdown rule breaking, even during large illegal gatherings. Futures 135: 102883. DOI

van Mulukom, V., Muzzulini, B., Rutjens, B. T., van Lissa, C.J., and Farias, M. (2021). The Psychological Impact of Threat and Lockdowns During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exacerbating Factors and Mitigating Actions. Translational Behavioral Medicine 11(7): 1318–1329. DOI

Chapters

Mauritsen, A.L. & van Mulukom, V. (2023) Never mind the Gods: Explaining Unbelief and Non-religion. In: B. Purzycki & T. Bendixen (Eds.), The Minds of Gods: A Cross-Disciplinary Survey. Bloomsbury. DOI

Coleman, T.J. III, Messick, K. & van Mulukom, V. (2022) Atheism: A New Evolutionary Perspective on Non-Belief. In: Y. Lior & J.E. Lane(Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Evolutionary Approaches to Religion (pp. 130-150). Routledge, London.. DOI

Burić, I., Brazil, I.A., & van Mulukom, V. (2021) Individual differences in meditation outcomes. In: M. Farias, D. Brazier, and M. Lalljee (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Meditation (pp. 503-524), Oxford University Press, Oxford. DOI

van Mulukom, V. (2020). The Evolution of Imagination and Fiction Through Generativity and Narrative. In J.C. Carroll, M. Clasen, and E. Jonsson (Eds), Evolutionary Perspectives on Imaginative Culture (pp. 53-70). Springer, Cham. DOI

Editorial articles

van Mulukom, V. (in press). Imagination. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 7(1). pdf

van Mulukom, V. (2022). Imagination. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 6(2). DOI pdf

Carroll, J., Johnson, J.A., Jonsson, E., Jung, R.E., van Mulukom, V. (2022) Editorial: Imaginative culture and human nature: Evolutionary perspectives on the arts, religion, and ideology. Frontiers in Psychology 13, 999057. DOI

van Mulukom, V. (2022). Imagination. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 6(1), 127-130. DOI pdf

Geertz, A.W., Nielbo, K.L. & van Mulukom, V. (2021). Methodology in the Cognitive Science of Religion. Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion 6(1-2), 5-9. DOI

van Mulukom, V. (2021). Imagination. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 5(1), 121-124. DOI pdf

Geertz, A.W., van Mulukom, V., & Nielbo, K.L. (2019). The cognitive science of religion: Wherefrom, whereto? Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion 5(1), 1-4. DOI

Coleman, T.J. III, Jong, J., & van Mulukom, V. (2018). Introduction to the Special Issue: What are Religious Beliefs? Contemporary Pragmatism 15(3), 279-283. DOI

Preprints

van Mulukom, V., Baimel, A., Maraldi, E., & Farias, M. (preprint). Examining the relationship between metacognitive trust in thinking styles and supernatural beliefs. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/nsp2h (open access)

van Mulukom, V. (preprint) Trust in scientists and non-populist governments supports COVID-19 information and safeguarding behaviors. http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/chy4b (open access)

van Mulukom, V. & Clasen, M. (preprint) The evolutionary functions of imagination and fiction and how they may contribute to psychological wellbeing during a pandemic. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/wj4zg (open access)

Charles, S. J., van Mulukom, V., Farias, M., Brown, J. E., Delmonte, R., Maraldi, E., Turner, L., Watts, F., Watts, J., Dunbar, R. I. M. (preprint) Religious Rituals Increase Social Bonding and Pain Threshold. http://dx.doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/my4hs (open access)

van Mulukom, V. & Geertz, A.W. (preprint) The importance of imagination and subjective knowledge: The evolution of art and religion as symbolic representations of feelings, experiences, and beliefs. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/7y6w8 (open access)