Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

On Remembrance Sunday, I shared a post about Queen Elizabeth II being the only living Commander in Chief who served in World War II. As a young woman she served in a way that women were welcomed in uniform in those days. What amazed me is the number of people who gave my post a like or "love" in a short period of time. At one point, the post got a positive click about every minute, which is much higher than my usual posts. Of course, the group was composed of people of British origin. Still, the question may be asked why is she so popular? And, is there anything leaders may learn from such high levels of public support? Oh, by the way, Queen Elizabeth II and her family are of great interest to many Americans as well so, it's not just the British. Princess Elizabeth WW II service The Queen's popularity ratings run above 80% in various surveys. That's high for a national leader. Most leaders won't be kings or queens or even presidents ...

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 ...

Originally published 10 July 2015 Today, July 10, marks the 75th anniversary of the  Battle of Britain . German Luftwaffe attempted to destroy the British Royal Air Force (RAF) before invading Britain in 1940.  Timeline . The failure was a turning point in the war. Many have analysed the event in terms of German air superiority-planes, pilots and experience. There are mentions of British radar as helpful. I take a look at psychological factors. COUNTING ERRORS People make mistakes. Germans underestimated the number of British planes. The British overestimated the number of German planes. It’s always better to underestimate an enemy. MOTIVATION Defending your family, friends, and homeland is much more motivating than risking your life to attack an enemy-especially one you expect to defeat later in the year. EMOTION trumped cognitive strategy By all accounts Hitler was angry over British  counterattacks on German towns . He began pummeling Lo...

Inciting Christian Violence "I always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walk in and kill…" Jerry Falwell Jr. (4 December 2015, CNN ). To loud applause, Falwell encouraged his students to arm themselves. The remarks were related to the latest mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. It didn’t take long before other Christians proclaimed their outrage. Well known progressive Christian leader Brian D. McLaren published an open letter (December 7, 2015, Huffingtonpost ). He advanced the progressive view that “authentic Christianity is the loving, peaceful, just and generous way of life embodied in Jesus. It is characterized more by self-giving than self-defense, by pre-emptive peacemaking rather than pre-emptive violence.” Also opposed to Falwell’s remarks was Shane Claiborne writing for RNS (05 December 2015). Claiborne cited the usual texts emphasizing Jesus...