There is a classic study in social psychology that asked criminals and non-criminals if they would commit certain crimes if they knew, 100%, that they would never get caught. The criminals' responses did not differ from the responses of non-criminals. This suggests that all people, criminal or not, have roughly the same desire to commit crimes. The only thing separating them is a fear of, or at least a consideration of, getting caught.

I have a huge interest in the psychological effects of belief in Hell and Satan. And I wondered if this same idea was at play when it comes to Hell. Do people avoid cheating, murdering, raping and stealing because they want to avoid the punishment of Hell?

I had this thought in my head while attending SPSP, a national conference for social psychology, in San Diego a few weeks back. And, low and behold, one of the presentations, by Azim Sharif of the University of Oregon, addressed these very questions.