Figure: Religion This graph illustrates the work of psychologists Harvey Whitehouse and Quentin Atkinson, as published in the April 23-29, 2011 issue of The Economist. The "unpleasantness" of religious rituals (0 is low, 5 is high) is along the x-axis. How often the religion requires the ritual to be performed is along the y-axis. What economic concept does this diagram represent?

Question

Figure: Religion  This graph illustrates the work of psychologists Harvey Whitehouse and Quentin Atkinson, as published in the April 23-29, 2011 issue of The Economist. The "unpleasantness" of religious rituals (0 is low, 5 is high) is along the x-axis. How often the religion requires the ritual to be performed is along the y-axis. What economic concept does this diagram represent?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The graph represents a demand curve, as it shows the relationship between the frequency of a ritual (quantity demanded) and the unpleasantness of the ritual (price). The y-axis represents the quantity demanded, while the x-axis represents the willingness to pay (or in this case, the willingness to endure unpleasantness). Therefore, the graph represents the demand curve for a religious ritual.

Figure: Religion This Graph Illustrates the Work of Psychologists