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

This diagram represents a demand curve, showing how the frequency of religious rituals is impacted by the unpleasantness of the ritual. The y-axis shows the quantity demanded at each price point (frequency of the ritual), while the x-axis shows the "price" (unpleasantness) of the ritual. This is similar to how a demand curve shows how much of a product consumers are willing to buy at different prices.

Figure: Religion This Graph Illustrates the Work of Psychologists