Published: January 27, 2011
God may work in mysterious ways – but cognitive science is getting a handle on them
Scientific American features an intriguing introduction to Jesse Bering’s new book The Belief Instinct: The Psychology of Souls, Destiny and the Meaning of Life. One of the leading scholars in the field of religious cognition Bering crafts a thesis that builds on the strengths of his own research and others.
In the chapters that follow, we will be exploring this question of the innateness of God beliefs, in addition to many related beliefs, such as souls, the afterlife, destiny, and meaning. You’re probably already well versed in the man in the street’s explanations for why people gravitate toward God in times of trouble. Almost all such stories are need-based accounts concerning human emotional well-being. For example, if I were to pose the question “Why do most people believe in God?” to my best friend from high school, or my Aunt Betty Sue in Georgia, or the pet store owner in my small village here in Northern Ireland, their responses would undoubtedly go something like this: “Well, that’s easy. It’s because people need . . . [fill in the blank here: to feel like there’s something bigger out there; to have a sense of purpose in their lives; to take comfort in religion; to reduce uncertainty; something to believe in].”
Source: Scientific American
Published: August 6, 2010
Marriage counselling can do more harm than good as it makes couples feel like a failure and that their relationship is already over a current report from the Department of Education suggests!
“Many of the participants felt that a couple should be able to deal with their relationship problems privately… without having to rely on external relationship support,” the report said.
OK call me biased (as I do manage a psychology practice) and over many years have witnessed couples successful resolve their relationship difficulties with the help of skilled psychotherapist. Family and friends whilst a great support in times of distress do not very often possess the skill set a trained professional has!
I do agree that couples in marital distress often wait until the eleventh hour to seek help. The stigmatism that has plagued people who suffer from mental illness/depression and has long stopped them seeking constructive help. I think and hope that this is slowly but surely being eroded, so please lets not put relationship counselling into that same bag!
The report recommended that professional support should be made as “informal” as possible and that they should not be billed as a way of trying to resolve an already failed relationship.
Divorce and the financial ramifications of failed marriages, especially where there are children are infintely more costly than the investment of marriage counselling… lawyers and the legal aftermath are way more costly than therapists. I’m not sure why investing in the most important relationship you have should be cost free. We maintain our homes, we maintain our cars and then we balk at paying fees to seek help to maintain our marriage?
Read the report tell us what you think… have you ever had relationship therapy ? Was it useful?
Link to read this Telegraph article
Link to download the report let us know what you think!
Published: August 4, 2010
Thinking about God may make you less upset about making errors, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The researchers measured brain waves for a particular kind of distress-response while participants made mistakes on a test. Those who had been prepared with religious thoughts had a less prominent response to mistakes than those who hadn’t.
“Eighty-five percent of the world has some sort of religious beliefs,” says Michael Inzlicht, who cowrote the study with Alexa Tullett, both at the University of Toronto Scarborough. “I think it behooves us as psychologists to study why people have these beliefs; exploring what functions, if any, they may serve.” [continue reading…]
