Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

  Repeated Stories in Conversatio n   Recently, I looked at some photos of Christmases past as I was moving to a new computer. I smiled a lot and enjoyed the good memories. Like most people my age, a lot of family members are no longer present. Sometimes, repeating an old story at family gatherings can be a pleasant experience. We remember someone we loved and something funny about what they said or did. It’s repetition, but it’s pleasant. Context and frequency make a difference. But you may have had the common experience of annoying repetitions. Someone you know has a habit of repeating old stories, jokes, or awkward one-liners. Sometimes they are out of context or sometimes they fit the context, but they’ve been heard so many times. And sometimes, the stories are obnoxious. Why People Repeat Themselves:  And Some Suggestions Why is this? There may be several reasons for repetition. 1. Reinforcemen t. We tend to repeat behavior that feels good. Smiles, laughter, and posi...

What I call the SCOPES model is an organization of and an elaboration on the way many psychologists conduct comprehensive assessments for patients. I find the approach helpful because it guides us in thinking about ourselves and others in terms of multiple dimensions rather than just one or two labels that can lead to misunderstanding or worse. SCOPES is an acrostic for five dimensions of human nature within a social context.  SCOPES is also a metaphor for looking with an intent to carefully observe people in a richer and more diverse way than we do with a cursory glance. Once I name the six dimensions you will see how they reflect the common ways we speak about ourselves and others. What makes this aapproach uncommon is that it takes effort to look beyond that which is immediately evident and consider multiple dimensions before making “snap” judgments. A camera metaphor may help. People are like cameras operating on default settings. Modern cameras have multi...