Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Respect consists of the ways people treat their leaders and other group members. Core features of respect include social status and likeability ( See Psychology of Respect ). Honesty In a 2014 survey by Kouzes and Posner of over 100,000 people, honesty was the highest quality ( CEO ). Honest communication is often supported by facts that can be checked by others. Honesty promotes trust and credibility. One major lapse in integrity can dash a career. Apologies may help but for many, trust is gone forever. Politicians often get little respect because they fail to deliver on their promises. A CEO will be ousted when a promised result doesn’t happen. But politicians seem to get away with failed promises when they can blame the failure on a competitor, opposition party, or foreign power. Golden Rule Leaders gain or lose respect depending on how people perceive them as following the Golden Rule - Treat others as you would like to be treated. Respect is a relational ...

Social Psychology and Theology in Mark 3 I am writing this blog as a reflection on concepts drawn from two major fields of psychology that strike me in my study of Mark 3. In this post I look at social psychology concepts related to group leadership and formation. In the next post I will look at lessons from the perspective of Clinical Psychology. Group Identity Mark opens his gospel with a statement about the identity of Jesus as the anointed one and Son of God (1:1). Who is Jesus? That’s a question offered as guidance on one theme to guide people studying Mark’s gospel (e.g., Martindale ). My focus on group identity comes from a consideration that Mark is writing to people after Jesus has left his earthy ministry. In short, Jesus as leader is no longer visible to his followers. I suggest at least one of Mark’s aims is to identify who Christians are, but perhaps more importantly, who they are not. In this chapter he also identifi...