Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

  Strengthening the Fabric of Our Society I have good memories of my High School teachers. After earning my PhD in School Psychology, I worked in public and private schools and gained an appreciation for how stressful their careers could be. We usually interacted in meetings with parents when I would share the results of assessment or receive a referral for psychotherapy. Sometimes I sat in classes to collect information in an effort to collaborate with a teacher on classroom management issues. At one point, I had studied the literature with my friend and colleague, Thomas J. Huberty, who is Emeritus Professor at University of Indiana. At the time, Christopher Wilson had developed a measure of teacher stress. He did not find any differences among groups in his teacher sample and neither did we. We compared teachers in regular education with those who taught teens with severe disabilities in a residential school. According to Wilson’s measure, our teachers scored in the modera...

  Not long after we came to America, dad wanted to see Florida. So, we went during Easter break—I think it was before college students raised hell. The memories I stored have been reprocessed a few times, but the colourful gist remains. Dad loaded our things into the boot of his well used two-tone blue Chevy Bel Air and headed south. By the time we reached the Carolina’s, my memories stored images of people and events strengthened by my parent's commentary. A hard-working black man was with a mule in a field. Signs at a roadside stop read “Whites Only”. Somewhere in the South, people marvelled at how well we spoke English since we hadn’t been in the US very long. I must have slept a lot. Dad drove all night. We didn’t do hotels, which was a good thing I found out later when dad chose some hovels on future trips. When we crossed the border—Florida—dad stopped for samples of Florida orange juice. I’m guessing we arrived Saturday because I was red with a helluva sunburn at chu...

  Connecting Faith and Science 2024 Geoffrey W. Sutton & Designer AI In this post, I consider analogies as an aide to understanding potential relationships between psychology and theology. I am writing a series of volumes on  the relationship between Christian Theology and Psychology. What's different about my approach is a focus on how the two disciplines are different and ways some Christians have attempted to find a no conflict relationship. The title of the series is:  Irreconcilable Differences? Puzzles When a theological perspective and a psychological perspective seem close, the puzzle analogy seems apropos. For example, the Genesis creation story seems world's apart from Evolutionary Psychology, but both influence how Christians view human nature. Francis Collins founded the BioLogos website. As a Christian and a scientist (he led the US genome project), he and his colleagues propose a view of Evolutionary Creation. For them, evolution provides the detail expl...

  To leave a Christian group can involve a painful loss. In addition to the pain of condemnation, there is the potential loss of family and friends. For some, it can mean an economic loss. Some may experience grief or grief mixed with relief. A religious way of life is an investment—a call to commitment (Mt 10:37–38).   The social psychology principle of sunk costs helps explain why some, but not all, Christians continue to support traditional views about biblical texts and doctrines such as those dealing with creation, morality, or sexuality. In contrast, some Christians seem able to throw off old ways of thinking or behaving with relative ease.  The notion of sunk costs refers to the way some investors fail to cut their losses from a bad investment. Instead, they pour more money into it hoping for a recovery. It appears to be a part of human nature to conserve what one has rather than take a loss and look for better options.   The application of sunk costs t...

  Evolving 2023 Geoffrey W. Sutton & Bing AI Evolution, Psychology, and Christianity Irreconcilable Differences Barriers and Bridges The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was published 24 November 1859. Scientists have built on the solid foundation laid by Charles Darwin 165 years ago. New discoveries have refined the theory and expanded our understanding of the evolution of life. For example, we know a lot more about genetics than scientists did in the 1800s. As is commonly known, Christian leaders have denounced evolution and fought the teaching of evolution in American public schools for more than a century. Clearly, the evolutionary explanation of the origins of life, including human beings, is not compatible with traditional Christian teaching about the creation. Evolution explains the diversity of life through such processes as natural selection, mutation, and genetic drift. All species evolve and those that survive to reproduce pass along their gen...

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...