Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Why the US Needs Allies According to a report by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the recent expansion of the BRICS group of nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to include six new members (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates) will have a significant impact on the future of the international balance of powers. According to Wikipedia, the BRICS group of nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) has a combined nominal GDP of US $28 trillion and a total GDP (PPP) of around US$57 trillion as of 2018. In 2021, China had the largest nominal GDP of the group at $16.86 trillion. In contrast to the BRICS group, The US GDP was $25.462 trillion in 2022 (US Bureau of Economic Analysis). The expansion of the BRICS group signifies a growing alignment of geopolitical and economic agendas within the bloc. The new members will add their voices to advocating for a more equitable global governance system, reforming t...

                  Einstein and the God Problem Barriers to the Integration of Christianity and Science —Including Psychological Science Every so often, the famous German scientist, Albert Einstein makes news. He’s been quoted and misquoted on a variety of subjects outside his area of expertise. It is not surprising to read what Einstein said about God or religion if a quote suggests that such a brilliant scientist believed in God. Earlier this year, one of Einstein’s letters valued at $125,000 was for sale. The RNS story title is eye-catching ( Karmarkar, 2023 ): “Rare Einstein letter rebutting biblical creation story for sale.” Perhaps it shouldn’t matter what Einstein thought about creation. Afterall, Einstein was a theoretical physicist—not a religious scholar. Nevertheless, the biblical creation story has been around for well over two thousand years and many continue to argue for a literal interpretation of the Genesis text rather t...

  Christmas Couple 2023 by Geoffrey Sutton & Image Designer   Now it came to pass one snowy Christmas Eve, that Will invited Cate to join him at church where Amelia, his much younger sister, was to shine as an angel. Will and Cate had become close friends as they worked together on High School physics projects. Both were brilliant students who shared a passion for science and perhaps for each other. Cate was more of an independent thinker with a bold openness to new experiences, but she knew she wanted to be a gynaecologist* and already had a university scholarship. Will saw the world in a more conventional way. He was an agreeable and conscientious lad who did not poke holes in the status quo. His parents had paved the way for him to attend a church affiliated college where he would major in physics. Will’s career path was about to change.   Will was in a reflective mood as he watched his sister manage her wings with their mother’s help. Logs burned brightly in...

Park Closed 2023 Geoffrey W. Sutton & Bing AI   It's September 29th and the US is about to shutdown again- -that is, the government closes nonessential operations. Of course, what's "essential" isn't decided by us--the citizens of this great nation. Surely, there is a more effective way to avoid this recurring event and the horrific costs to our financial and wellbeing. I do think our government wastes too much of our money, but shutdowns are not the best way to get change. Every election makes a difference. When we elect big spenders, we pay the price. Sometimes, we may decide some spending is a good idea--depends on our politics. The Cost of A Shutdown - It's Not Just Financial Were you planning a trip to a National Park? They shutdown. The parks will close. You lose planned enjoyment. Some parks are open and some with minimal services. It will require some investigation to know what's available and what is closed. Were you going to fly somewhere? L...

Viewing a Sacred Book 2023 by Geoffrey W. Sutton & Bing AI   Are Conservative and Progressive Christians Trading Insults? I'm in the process of writing about the assessment of spirituality, which I hope to complete by the end of the year. I've come across articles and research measures attempting to clarify the related concepts of fundamentalism and biblical literalism. And so, I have a question about the meaning of these terms and wonder if there is a way to delineate different approaches that recognizes differences but does not appear to denigrate the perspective of people with different views. Here's a summary of what I've found. Researchers have examined differences within religious traditions in the way subgroups of people communicate about their beliefs and live out their faith. Writing in Christianity Today (2023) Tim Pietz begins his essay on fundamentalism by noting the negative connotation of two of the terms (bold added for emphasis): “ Fundamentalist ” ...

  Anchors are the labels at the end points of a rating scale. For example, a researcher may ask respondents to rate an item on a five-point scale of agreement ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. The two endpoint labels,  strongly disagree and strongly agree,  are the anchors. Ad Learn more about Creating Surveys Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD  is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is    www.suttong.com   See Geoffrey Sutton’s books  on    AMAZON          or    GOOGLE STORE Follow on      FACEBOOK     Geoff W. Sutton           TWITTER    @Geoff.W.Sutton       You can read many published articles at no charge:    Academia    Geoff W Sutton ...

  Pants on Fire 2023 Geoffrey W. Sutton & Bing AI CLIMATE SCIENCE and the Unscientific MIND Challenging Thoughts About Climate Science and Psychological Explanations   Climate science has become a political football. The teams of political rivals seek to exploit research about climate science to score points they can trade in for political power. Their fans cheer and sneer and look for penalties. Now a scientist seems to reveal a weakness. Good scientists can look back on their studies and those of others to identify what should have or could have been considered. It’s the never ending quest we read in scientific journals, “more research is needed.” Patrick Brown is a climate scientist. He’s caught some attention for his opinion piece about other variables that could account for the world’s wicked wildfires. Shannon Osaka does a good job of telling the complex story in WAPO, but I’m not sure the details will change the game. But then he changes fields to bec...