Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Raphael, Eusebius of Cremona raising Three Men from the Dead  with Saint Jerome's Cloak (c 1502-3) SPIRIT OF HALLOWEEN LEADS TO FEAR OR FUN Seven Scary Themes 1. Surprise! That delightful toddler experience on being found or finding a hiding grandparent; The squeal of faux fright when a family member pops up unexpectedly; The ability to hide within a dinosaur costume or some scary character and get a reaction from play-along adults.      I’m lost! This is a closely related childhood fear of distress when a child can’t find his or her parents. Especially for a child alone in a mall or who wandered off in a large store. Now this fright is available in a corn maze or the darkened halls of a haunted house. 2. I’m scared! What fun to trot out the usual fear-inducing spiders and snakes, create faux thunderstorms, or move people into an enclosed space. Fun, unless you are one of the 27,000,000 Americans that have a specific phobia. ...

12 Facts About Grateful People The American Holiday of Thanksgiving is a good time to focus on gratitude. Gratitude is a common human emotion and a virtue among adherents of many religions. Christians are encouraged to count their blessings and offer thanks each day. In psychology, gratitude is a positive emotion expressed toward those who have given some gift or benefit. In the case of religious people, the gift can come from God. It’s no surprise that there is a positive correlation between religiosity or spirituality and gratitude. The Grateful Living 12 --What’s true about grateful people— compared to those who are low on gratefulness? 1.  Higher positive feelings 2.  Higher life satisfaction 3.  More vitality 4.  More optimism 5.  More generous 6.  More helpful 7.  More likely to attend religious services 8.  More likely to practice their faith 9.  Less interested in material goods 10. Less ...