Don: There would be great practical usefulness for understanding more about religiosity and human behavior. You would need to have variables that have a much better operational definition than "theistic" or "atheistic." It would be difficult (if not impossible) to do random assignment with some of these designs, but useful studies could still be conducted. A study doesn't have to use an experimental design in order to be of any value. That being said, however, there is a growing body of quasi-experimental studies looking at the role of religious variables in different clinical situations (which includes some interesting clinical trial research). Check out any of the psychology of religion texts (such as the ones by Pargment or Paloutzian) to get a good idea of some of the research that has already been done in this area.
Rod ______________________________________________ Roderick D. Hetzel, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Psychology LeTourneau University President-Elect, Division 51 American Psychological Association Department of Psychology LeTourneau University Post Office Box 7001 2100 South Mobberly Avenue Longview, Texas 75607-7001 Office: Heath-Hardwick Hall 115 Phone: 903-233-3312 Fax: 903-233-3246 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage: http://www.letu.edu/people/rodhetzel -----Original Message----- From: Don Allen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, February 22, 2002 1:24 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Subject: Religious coping Rod Hetzel wrote in part: "So, leaving the antagonistic comments and personal agendas behind us, what can we as psychologists contribute to the discussion of religion and human behavior. I have some potential questions for us to address: Are there specific variables that would predict prosocial versus antisocial behaviors among theists and atheists? Are there certain variables that would predict prososical behavior among theists but not atheists (or among atheists but not theists)? Are there certain variables that would predict antisocial behavior among theists but not atheists (or among atheists but not theists)? Are differences between theists and atheists in how they cope with stress?" I have to wonder what would be the value of these "preditcor variables", even if we could find them. Certainly no one could calim that there was a causal relationship between religion and prosocial behaviour based on such a correlation alone and I can't envision an experiment where people are randonly assigned to the "theist" or "atheist" conditions. As for predicting the likelihood of antisocial (or prosocial) behaviour based on theist belief I'm sure that the variablity among subjects would be so large that making specific predictions about specific individuals would be fruitless. Regarding differences in "coping with stress", well that seems to be a tautological nightmare. If you define a "good coper" as someone who accepts god's will then the theists will, by definition , be bound to be better. What do you see as the practical outcome of such research? All the best, -Don. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
