Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

  Mispers is British slang for missing persons. People of any age can have memories of missing persons during the holidays when we’d expect them to be present. Of course, we know they died. And most of us, but sadly not all of us, know where their mortal remains are located.  We especially recall those who recently died or died close to Christmas. For example, we flew home to London England when my gran died one December or as an adult, I flew back to be with my mum when dad died just 5 days before Christmas. It doesn’t matter exactly when they died, the loss of people we loved enough that they live on in our memories can bring a smile, a tear, a longing, and many other feelings. So, for many at holiday gatherings, there will be unseen friends and family very much alive in memories.  Some people will see what others cannot see. Merry Christmas! Ad BUY ON AMAZON Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD  is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was ...

  Repeated Stories in Conversatio n   Recently, I looked at some photos of Christmases past as I was moving to a new computer. I smiled a lot and enjoyed the good memories. Like most people my age, a lot of family members are no longer present. Sometimes, repeating an old story at family gatherings can be a pleasant experience. We remember someone we loved and something funny about what they said or did. It’s repetition, but it’s pleasant. Context and frequency make a difference. But you may have had the common experience of annoying repetitions. Someone you know has a habit of repeating old stories, jokes, or awkward one-liners. Sometimes they are out of context or sometimes they fit the context, but they’ve been heard so many times. And sometimes, the stories are obnoxious. Why People Repeat Themselves:  And Some Suggestions Why is this? There may be several reasons for repetition. 1. Reinforcemen t. We tend to repeat behavior that feels good. Smiles, laughter, and posi...

  Sculpture at Terazin  2024 “Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It.” George Santayana ***** A great quantity of information in the form of text, photographs, statues, films, drawings, and paintings portray and honour the lives of those who were victims of the Nazi’s murderous plan. The concentration camps do concentrate one’s focus on a particular era of terror. The evidence from the past 80 years suggests Santayana was right and wrong. In a sense, his statement was too general to be contradicted. For example, the specific conditions that generated and maintained the Nazi system of mass murder are unlikely to be replicated; however, some timeless characteristics of human nature persist. ***** I’m a psychologist and not a historian yet, I come away from recent visits to several Nazi terror sites with some impressions. 1. Religion supports dictators. Horrible leaders often have an amiable relationship with the larger religious groups who fail to dissuade th...

  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...