Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Today is a day of mourning and the funeral service of former US President, Jimmy Carter. In today's post, I consider the psychology of funerals. Funerals hold significant psychological value for individuals and communities, serving as both a ritual of closure and a means of collective support. Here are some key aspects of their value: Emotional Closure : Funerals provide a structured way for individuals to say their final goodbyes, helping them to begin the process of accepting the reality of loss and moving through the stages of grief. Social Support: Gathering family and friends creates a support network, reminding mourners they are not alone in their sorrow. This collective mourning can foster a sense of connection and shared experience. Ritual and Tradition : Rituals offer comfort through their predictability and familiarity. Participating in time-honored customs can provide a sense of continuity and stability during a tumultuous time. Expression of Feelings : Funerals offer a ...

Hope Shines a Light Hope Wins Have you ever look forward to an event and found it to be even better than expected? Hope is about expectations. High levels of hope represent a combination of plans and motivation directed at reaching a goal. A group of us are looking at the effectiveness of Christian counseling from the perspective of people who have recently attended counseling sessions. As we continue to collect data, one finding stands out­­—those with high levels of hope appear healthier on a variety of measures. What is hope? Hope is a positive motivational action schema. The two components of hope work in tandem to help people achieve goals. According to hope theory developed by C.R. Snyder and his colleagues at the University of Kansas, hope consists of two components: agency and pathways. Pathways are the routes or ways people develop to achieve their goals. For example, a person may enroll in college to obtain a degree on the path to a career in c...

LESSONS in HOPE and SPIRITUALITY The psychology of hope owes much to the thinking and research of the late C. R.Snyder (2002). His research suggested two components.  Hope involves thinking about ways to achieve goals and objectives ( pathways ). And hope includes those motivational thoughts that energize people to use the identified pathways to reach their goals ( agency thinking). 1. Hope links to compassion. People high in hope are also more compassionate (Sutton et al., 2014). People full of hope love to share their hope with others. People in despair have lost hope and are in desperate need of hearing a message of hope. Hopelessness is in fact a diagnostic feature of clinical depression. Many find hope in the meaning provided through religious faith, including Christianity. 2. Hope links to forgiveness. People with higher hope scores also score higher on trait forgiveness (Sutton et al., 2014). Hope promotes forgiveness in people. And people who learn fo...