Humans are biased toward teleological explanations of natural phenomena. The promiscuous teleology account posits that this proclivity is rooted in the detection of supernatural agency behind the design of the natural world. This idea is supported by numerous positive correlations of religious belief and agreement with teleological explanations of natural phenomena, but it is challenged by findings that non-believers often agree with them as well, suggesting the need for an adjudicating experiment. The current experiment tested whether considering similar teleological explanations of nature causes explicitly theistic and atheistic people to think about God, which would suggest that the teleological bias has roots in agency detection. Participants (N = 608) were randomly assigned to consider teleological explanations of either human-caused phenomena or natural phenomena, with the main prediction that considering the natural item set would make theists relatively faster to categorize God as real but make atheists relatively slower to categorize God as imaginary. The data did support this hypothesis, suggesting that people across the theistic belief spectrum automatically think of God when thinking about nature’s purpose, and thus the teleological bias might be rooted in the detection of supernatural agency. Implications for theories of teleology, study limitations, and potential future directions are discussed.

Electronic dance music (EDM) is a broad genre of music that, after gaining popularity, quickly became stigmatized. This study aimed to examine stigma associations of electronic dance music with substance abuse, cult-like devotion, and the inauthenticity of EDM fans. Further, this study intended to examine the positive aspects of tolerance, inclusivity, and authenticity associated with the electronic dance community. An online survey composed of 12 questions was administered to 876 students. The survey data was then analyzed and compared to the information gathered through a literature review. The major findings suggest that, when compared to other genres, there is a level of accuracy to the association of electronic dance music events with substance abuse, but not cult-like devotion or inauthenticity. The findings also suggest that there is no less inclusivity nor authenticity experienced at electronic dance music events compared to other genres. Another major finding is that the negative associations of electronic dance music were shared more often by those who have never attended such events. However, the positive associations were shared more often by those who have attended such events. These findings suggest that experiencing an electronic dance music event for oneself is important to understand the true nature of such events, for they have been shown to engender positive social values such as tolerance, inclusivity, and authenticity.