Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Creative Memories I recall the time our house was bombed by the Germans. Actually, I don’t. But I do recall my mother telling the captivating story. We love stories—especially stories that inspire us by overcoming great odds or keep us in suspense as to the death-defying outcome. From time to time a famous person tells a tale that stretches credulity and seems fit for a party or a pub rather than a place of leadership. We want people we can trust. If they lie about their past, won’t they lie to us about important matters? For decades, psychologists have published studies that plumb the limitations of human memory. Since Bartlett published his famous work in 1932 , we have been suspicious about the accuracy in human memory. To paraphrase, Bartlett explained that the processes of relying on memory to help us adapt to life events also lead to errors. A few years ago (2012), psychological scientist, Daniel Schacter provided a helpful summa...

Intolerance and religious tribes and thoughts on becoming good neighbors I gave a talk about conservative and liberal Christians. The jumping off point for the discussion centers on a chapter in Brian D. McLaren’s book a Generous Orthodoxy . Religious tribes are at war. Westerners learn that not all Muslims share the same beliefs. News from Israel and Palestine reminds us that people of different religious groups fight to the death. And survivors seek revenge. Americans associated with different religious tribes have different beliefs about right and wrong action.  Conservatives and liberals disagree about religion and politics. And the disagreements are fierce. I find the moral psychology research helpful to understanding what separates these two religious tribes.  Conservative and liberal Christians are often at war despite a command to love. Finding solutions won’t be easy. Here’s some research and thoughts on the roots of intolerance, respect, U...

Feeding Children in South Africa WORLD  VISION, MORALITY        & RIGHTEOUS MINDS World Vision made waves earlier in the week when they announced plans to hire same-sex married couples. Multiple news sources carried stories and blog posts were filled with comments from irate donors. To be sure, there were supportive comments as well. After a few days, World Vision announced a change of heart . They issued an apology to their upset supporters. And reversed their policy . The wide variety of remarks offers a trove of data to illustrate how people focus on different aspects of a situation when reaching a moral decision. In this post I will draw on the work of Jonathan Haidt and his colleagues to frame the six dimensions of morality. QUICK THINKING MORALITY First, several researchers have written about how the mind works when thinking about anything—including morality. One of the best summaries of thinking is the book by Daniel ...