Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Much has been written about the power of forgiveness to help people reduce their current distress from hurts, which may have las ted for years. Studies have demonstrated that forgiveness has biological correlates related to stress. The hurts addressed by forgiveness have been called "social pain." Acetaminophen is a commonly used effective medication for physical pain. A new study by George Slavich and his colleagues looks at the interaction of forgiveness and acetaminophen on the reduction of social pain. Their article is an editor's choice selection in the current Annals of Behavioral Medicine ( December, 2019 ). Following is a quote from their article abstract. Results As hypothesized, acetaminophen reduced participants’ social pain levels over time but only for those exhibiting high levels of forgiveness (i.e., 18.5% reduction in social pain over 20 days). Conclusions These data are the first to show that forgiveness and acetaminophen have interactive eff...

Tweeden's report of her long felt anger in the face of a revealing photo of sexual harassment by Al Franken makes big news for several reasons. We know sexual harassment knows no political boundaries. It's not just a problem for conservatives who have been under fire. But now there is evidence of a Democrat's sexual assault-- plus a photo and an apology. Leeann Tweeden says she accepted Franken's apology, which adds to the complexity of how to handle sexual harassment in society. Sexual harassment is wrong. No one of a sound mind denies the obvious. Different groups concerned about people who are accused of sexual harassment handle reports differently. This difference raises the issue of what consequences should apply to Franken and others when there is evidence of harassment. Voters will judge when they have an opportunity regardless of what any official administrative group (ethics panels etc.) decides. So, politicians have consequences of a different sort t...

RECONCILIATION:  FOUR STEPS Years ago, a former slave reconciled with his captors and used his position to help them and their family survive. You may have heard the Hebrew story of Joseph—a man favored by his father and despised by his brothers. He was sold to traffickers and ended up a servant to an Egyptian leader where he was sexually harassed, place in prison, and forgotten for years. After his wisdom and leadership was recognized in prison, he was freed and placed in a government position. During hard times, his brothers came to purchase grain. Joseph recognized them but they did not recognize him. He tested them, which induced fear but later, he revealed himself, and provided for their well-being. From time to time, I have heard pastors use the story as a basis for a sermon on forgiveness. But it’s not about forgiveness. There’s no evidence of forgiveness at all. All we observe are degrees of reconciliation among the family members. And near the end of the story, ...

Psychology of Forgiveness and  Christian Spirituality Forgiveness has become faddish in recent years as numerous mental health clinicians became aware of the benefits of forgiveness to mental and general health. Books and seminars promise pathways to help people forgive and reap the benefits in better health. Adding to the interest is the fit of forgiveness with Christian teaching—still the dominant faith in the US where much of the forgiveness research has been conducted. The research findings are indeed encouraging but an eagerness to apply a new discovery can often lead to misapplications and exaggerated expectations. Forgiveness is not a panacea. I recently (September, 2014) summarized research on the psychology of forgiveness and Christian spirituality for the journal, Encounter . In this post I will summarize some key points. Here’s the link to a copy of the complete article, Psychology of Forgiveness , where you will find more details and complete references. ...