Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

We may assume the obvious that statues of people are installed in public places by those who revere something about the person.  Dictators and other men who ruled with iron hands have been toppled and decapitated years after their death when their nefarious deeds were considered more evil than any good they might have done. And times changed making it safe to destroy an old emperor's image without losing one's own head. The recent protests about the statues of the Confederate States are not new as Gillian Brockwell explains in her WP post from 17 August. I have been tempted to draw on the culture of honour theories put forth by Richard Nisbett and Dov Cohen ( 1996 ) following some quite creative studies showing the tendency of Southerners to react quickly to perceived challenges to their honor compared to Northerners. (I always had research students read the article-save it for later if you are busy.) However, there is a warning about going too far beyond the lab d...

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...

I used Autofocus to capture this tiger in India News reports documenting the killing of children tug deeply at our most basic impulse to care for the young and vulnerable. Many of us identify unfair treatment and at least give a nod of support to those who seek to remedy injustice. It is no secret that people disagree about the right way to solve social problems. Matters of right and wrong are the stuff of morality. And matters of right and wrong often connect people with similar religious and political beliefs. I have drawn upon the research of Jonathan Haidt and his colleagues when writing about moral perspectives as formulated in moral foundations theory. The six moral foundations provide a useful way to consider various social-moral issues. In this post, I review the six moral foundations. In A House Divided , I applied these six foundations to show how different tribes of Christians argue about such divisive issues as birth control, abortion, and sex education. ...

I’ve had some time to think about honoring mothers on Mother’s Day. My mother lived until she was 93. And my wife has been a mother and grandmother for some years (I'm being careful here). I’ve written about Mother’s Day before ( 2014 ,  2015 ) but this year I have been asked to talk about Ephesians 6 the week after the US Mother’s Day so I’ve been thinking about Mother’s Day from the perspective of this text about honor. One of the interesting things about this well-known phrase, “Honor your father and your mother” is that it appears eight times in the Bible (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Matthew 15:4 & 19:19; Mark 7:10 & 10:19; Luke 18:20; Ephesians 6:2). Apparently, it was important to repeat this command. People over a span of centuries needed reminders. Maybe we do too. Here are my thoughts on this ancient text codified into a cultural norm for several decades. Words Aren’t Good Enough Christian honor required children to use their resource...

Christians are commanded to love God with all their being. Psychological scientists interested in religious studies have examined the idea of loving God in several ways, including measures of attachment. Attachment researchers have long examined the relationship between parents and children. Two components of the relationship are security and closeness or their opposites- anxious insecurity and distance or avoidance. These same dimensions have been found in the relationship between religious adults and God- especially when God is viewed as a person as in Christianity. Understanding attachment to God is one important aspect of Spiritual identity. And it is also related to morality. In this post I look at a study by Thomas Fergus and WadeRowatt at Baylor University. Morality and scrupulosity Some people experience extreme concerns about their sinfulness and have a strong sense of urgency to do something to rid themselves of their sin. This particular pattern...

“7 Lies About Welfare That Many People Believe Are Fact” The article named above was shared by my friend, Donna Washburn. It caught my eye because several people offered comments of support. The author, Danica Johnson, offers some insights into the US welfare system that are probably not known to many. Unfortunately, some of her comments have a slant that could prove off-putting to some as noted by another friend, Brandon Schmidly. Johnson's ideas are worth examining with a critical eye—at least by those of us who care more about understanding our world and helping people in need than we care about advocating for one political agenda or another. 1. As noted, welfare is not one program but a general term for a group of programs designed to meet the needs of people with different needs that cannot be met in other ways such as employment or relying on a family or church for support. This is important. Criticizing welfare makes no sense . Criticizing a speci...

Creating Good Memories After a Loss I knew something was wrong when my dad came to take me out of fifth grade in the middle of the day. In the old grey ’49 Plymouth, mum was crying. Soon we were at Idlewild for my first flight back home- London, England. For days, my aunt Joan’s home in East Finchley (North London) was a grand central station-- family coming and going. Funny old stories repeated. Newfangled Lego blocks were really cool. A visit to Aunt Lilly and Uncle Jack’s sweet shop (actually a small grocers- I focus on what’s important). Then there were trips to old friends. The lights of Oxford St and Regent St. A walk with dad by the Thames whilst mum grieved with her sisters and her dad. Good memories amidst the sorrow. The 5 th December, marks the anniversary of my maternal grandmother’s death and a special memory. I’ve lived more than six decades. My wife and I have known many losses. And some of our loved ones died very close to Christmas. I’ve learn...