Harking back to what I said in another thread about choice and interest in the selection of "appropriate evidence" I would imagine that much of this stuff is likely to be highly biased in selection. One wonders how he defines non-religious for his comparisons. One wonders if the study tends to define a religious person as one who is s regular church goer, or dedicated observer of his/her religion, in which case the study would be choosing people with self-control: a self fulfilling prediction. Did the study acknowledge the fact that there is a higher percentage of the religious in prisons than in the general population? Are cons achievers who exhibit self-control? 8 decades of selection. Probably not worth the paper it is printed on.
On Jan 1, 8:36 pm, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > I found the following (I've cut it down) and think it may be of > interest. > Self-control is critical for success in life. University of Miami > professor of Psychology Michael McCullough finds that religious people > have more self-control than do their less religious counterparts. > These findings imply that religious people may be better at pursuing > and achieving long-term goals that are important to them and their > religious groups. This, in turn, might help explain why religious > people tend to have lower rates of substance abuse, better school > achievement, less delinquency, better health behaviours, less > depression, and longer lives. > McCullough evaluated 8 decades worth of research on religion, which > has been conducted in diverse samples of people from around the world. > He found persuasive evidence from a variety of domains within the > social sciences, including neuroscience, economics, psychology, and > sociology, that religious beliefs and religious behaviours are capable > of encouraging people to exercise self-control and to more effectively > regulate their emotions and behaviours, so that they can pursue valued > goals. The research paper will be published in the January 2009 issue > of Psychological Bulletin. > The importance of self-control and self-regulation for understanding > human behaviour are well known to social scientists, but the > possibility that the links of religiosity to self-control might > explain the links of religiosity to health and behaviour has not > received much explicit attention. Among the most interesting > conclusions that the research team drew were the following: > • Religious rituals such as prayer and meditation affect the parts of > the human brain that are most important for self-regulation and self- > control; > • When people view their goals as "sacred," they put more energy and > effort into pursuing those goals, and therefore, are probably more > effective at attaining them; > • Religious lifestyles may contribute to self-control by providing > people with clear standards for their behaviour, by causing people to > monitor their own behaviour more closely, and by giving people the > sense that God is watching their behaviour; > • The fact that religious people tend to be higher in self-control > helps explain why religious people are less likely to misuse drugs and > alcohol and experience problems with crime and delinquency. > The question is essentially how the same social force that motivates > acts of charity and generosity can also motivate people to strap bomb > belts around their waists and then blow themselves up in crowded city > buses. By thinking of religion as a social force that provides people > with resources for controlling their impulses (including the impulse > for self-preservation, in some cases) in the service of higher goals, > religion can motivate people to do just about anything. > > There are some obvious critiques, yet I feel something important lies > in this. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
