Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

The Psychological Mechanisms that Lead Institutions to Side with Abusers Organizations often respond to allegations of abuse with surprising defensiveness, offering protection to powerful insiders while showing little compassion for the people who report harm. This pattern appears across sectors—politics, religion, business—and raises a difficult question: why do groups so often rally around the accused rather than support the victim? Consider three familiar scenarios: A political aide reports sexual abuse by a well liked male politician. Party leaders quickly close ranks, defending him publicly while circulating stories that cast doubt on her credibility. A charismatic megachurch pastor engages in a six month sexual relationship with a woman who sought him out for pastoral care. When she later names the experience as abuse, the church board emphasizes his community impact and stands firmly behind him. An employee tells a board member that the CEO misrepresented salary and benefits dur...

 You can message leaders the truth, but you can't make them believe it. Previously: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. A 360 video is worth 10 pictures. Previously: A picture is worth a thousand words. ...at least in real estate... Actions are weaker than repeated phrases no matter how false. Previously - actions speak louder than words. Yet, I see the power of repeated statements replacing actions. A reframing of the man and the fish: "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." A person lacking self-control is like a house broken into and left with open doors. Previously: He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. You can't judge a tablet by its case. Previously: You can't judge a book by its cover. Please check out my website     www.suttong.com    and see my books on    AMAZON      ...

                           7 Perspectives on Human Nature, God, and Violence     Previously I asked the question  “Why did God order the killing of so many people ?” See the previous post for context. In this post I look at human nature and consider how understanding people might apply to understanding old texts like those in the Bible. As I said before, I am not a biblical scholar so I shall leave the evaluation of my ideas up to those who are experts in both biblical studies and behavioural science. I can offer the perspective of someone who has studied human nature in the present as well as in historical narratives. Instead of assuming that the biblical writers were telling their audience what God literally said and did, is it possible the biblical texts are a true record of how the ancient Israelites interpreted events in their lives? For Christians, the perspective of Jesus t...

Psychology of Leadership, Spirituality, and a Palm Sunday Journey As Christians celebrate the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, I take a look at perceptions of leadership then and now. You can find the Gospel story in Matthew 21: 1-11 . After procuring a donkey, Jesus rode into Jerusalem. A crowd placed their clothes and newly cut tree branches (possibly palm branches) on the road. These actions, and the words shouted by the people, link Jesus to the beloved warrior king David. And the Hosanna exclamation embodied both praise and hopes of salvation. But the writer knows what happens next and quotes an old prophet (Zechariah 9:9) who described the king as gentle . This king was not the warrior on a charging horse. Then as now, people have expectations of their leaders. Established leaders are wary, if not paranoid, of potential challengers and would be assassins. Humility and gentleness are not on the short list of successful leadership traits. Not t...