2026 Joseph Bulbulia: Social Sciences and Humanities Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Social Sciences and Humanities	47	3382	3114	27	26	179	9658

Overview

Joseph Bulbulia is a researcher affiliated with Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Their scholarly work primarily spans the fields of social sciences and psychology, with a particular focus on sociology and political science, health, social psychology, clinical psychology, and cognitive neuroscience.

Their main research topics include:

Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
Religion and Society Interactions
Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
Social and Intergroup Psychology
Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
Advanced Causal Inference Techniques

Joseph Bulbulia has contributed articles to a variety of academic journals, with frequent publications in:

Religion Brain & Behavior
Evolutionary Human Sciences
Scientific Reports
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Nature Human Behaviour

Their recent papers showcase a range of topics related to religion, psychology, and well-being. Notable works include:

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown on trust, attitudes toward government, and well-being, 2020, American Psychologist
Religion and the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020, Religion Brain & Behavior
Treatment of missing data determined conclusions regarding moralizing gods, 2021, Nature
A many-analysts approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being, 2022, Religion Brain & Behavior
Religious residue: Cross-cultural evidence that religious psychology and behavior persist following deidentification, 2020, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Joseph Bulbulia frequently collaborates with several scholars in their research activities. Key co-authors include:

Chris G. Sibley
Richard Sosis
Wesley J. Wildman
Quentin D. Atkinson
Kumar Yogeeswaran

Best Publications

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown on trust, attitudes toward government, and well-being.

Chris G. Sibley;Lara M. Greaves;Nicole Satherley;Marc S. Wilson

826
Citations
Synchronized arousal between performers and related spectators in a fire-walking ritual

Ivana Konvalinka;Dimitris Xygalatas;Joseph Bulbulia;Uffe Schjødt

720
Citations
Let's dance together: synchrony, shared intentionality and cooperation.

Paul Reddish;Paul Reddish;Ronald Fischer;Joseph Bulbulia;Joseph Bulbulia

540
Citations
Extreme Rituals Promote Prosociality

Dimitrios Xygalatas;Dimitrios Xygalatas;Panagiotis Mitkidis;Panagiotis Mitkidis;Ronald Fischer;Paul Reddish;Paul Reddish

521
Citations
To be in synchrony or not? A meta-analysis of synchrony's effects on behavior, perception, cognition and affect

Reneeta Mogan;Ronald Fischer;Joseph A. Bulbulia

411
Citations
The cognitive and evolutionary psychology of religion

Joseph Bulbulia

378
Citations
Broad supernatural punishment but not moralizing high gods precede the evolution of political complexity in Austronesia

Joseph Watts;Simon J. Greenhill;Quentin Douglas Atkinson;Thomas E. Currie

303
Citations
The ecology of religious beliefs

Carlos A. Botero;Beth Gardner;Kathryn R. Kirby;Joseph Bulbulia

279
Citations
Signalling theory and the evolution of religious cooperation

Joseph Bulbulia;Richard Sosis

279
Citations
Faith after an earthquake: a longitudinal study of religion and perceived health before and after the 2011 Christchurch New Zealand Earthquake

Chris G. Sibley;Joseph Bulbulia

236
Citations
Does synchrony promote generalized prosociality

Paul Reddish;Joseph Bulbulia;Ronald Fischer

218
Citations
How do rituals affect cooperation? An experimental field study comparing nine ritual types.

Ronald Fischer;Rohan Callander;Paul Reddish;Joseph Bulbulia

213
Citations
Global evidence of extreme intuitive moral prejudice against atheists

Will M. Gervais;Dimitris Xygalatas;Dimitris Xygalatas;Ryan T. Mckay;Michiel Van Elk

206
Citations
Ritual human sacrifice promoted and sustained the evolution of stratified societies

Joseph Watts;Oliver Sheehan;Quentin Douglas Atkinson;Joseph Bulbulia

204
Citations
Cognitive resource depletion in religious interactions

Uffe Schjoedt;Jesper Sørensen;Kristoffer Laigaard Nielbo;Dimitrios Xygalatas

185
Citations
Religion and the COVID-19 pandemic

Wesley J. Wildman;Joseph Bulbulia;Richard Sosis;Uffe Schjoedt

180
Citations
The need to believe: a neuroscience account of religion as a motivated process

Michael Inzlicht;Alexa M. Tullett;Marie Good

170
Citations
The Fire-Walker’s High: Affect and Physiological Responses in an Extreme Collective Ritual

Ronald Fischer;Dimitris Xygalatas;Panagiotis Mitkidis;Panagiotis Mitkidis;Paul Reddish

151
Citations
Quantifying collective effervescence: Heart-rate dynamics at a fire-walking ritual

Dimitris Xygalatas;Ivana Konvalinka;Joseph Bulbulia;Andreas Roepstorff

136
Citations
The Evolution of Religion Studies, Theories, & Critiques

J Bulbulia;R Sosis;E Harris;R Genet

125
Citations
Demographic and Psychological Predictors of Panel Attrition: Evidence from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study

Nicole Satherley;Petar Milojev;Lara M. Greaves;Yanshu Huang

119
Citations
The cultural evolution of religion

Joseph Bulbulia;Armin W. Geertz;Quentin D. Atkinson;Emma Cohen

90
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Chris G. Sibley University of Auckland

Richard Sosis University of Connecticut

Danny Osborne University of Auckland

Marc S. Wilson Victoria University of Wellington

Quentin D. Atkinson University of Auckland

Fiona Kate Barlow University of Queensland

Ronald Fischer Victoria University of Wellington

Jordan Grafman Northwestern University

Taciano L. Milfont University of Waikato

Simon J. Greenhill Max Planck Society

External Links

Personal website of Joseph Bulbulia Google Scholar page

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