Many people have trouble with being angry at God at various points in their lives. Ravi Zacharias discusses this issue with a clinical psychologist in two podcasts.

Angry at God (Part 1 of 2)

Angry at God (Part 2 of 2)

Wired has an interesting article on how the placebo effect appears to be getting stronger.1 The placebo effect has been considered by many to be a nuisance variable, which is why many pharmaceutical trials include a placebo wash-out phase. I’ve written on the placebo effect before.

From the article:

MK-869 wasn’t the only highly anticipated medical breakthrough to be undone in recent years by the placebo effect. From 2001 to 2006, the percentage of new products cut from development after Phase II clinical trials, when drugs are first tested against placebo, rose by 20 percent. The failure rate in more extensive Phase III trials increased by 11 percent, mainly due to surprisingly poor showings against placebo. Despite historic levels of industry investment in R&D, the US Food and Drug Administration approved only 19 first-of-their-kind remedies in 2007—the fewest since 1983—and just 24 in 2008. Half of all drugs that fail in late-stage trials drop out of the pipeline due to their inability to beat sugar pills.

The upshot is fewer new medicines available to ailing patients and more financial woes for the beleaguered pharmaceutical industry. Last November, a new type of gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease, championed by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, was abruptly withdrawn from Phase II trials after unexpectedly tanking against placebo. A stem-cell startup called Osiris Therapeutics got a drubbing on Wall Street in March, when it suspended trials of its pill for Crohn’s disease, an intestinal ailment, citing an “unusually high” response to placebo. Two days later, Eli Lilly broke off testing of a much-touted new drug for schizophrenia when volunteers showed double the expected level of placebo response.

It’s not only trials of new drugs that are crossing the futility boundary. Some products that have been on the market for decades, like Prozac, are faltering in more recent follow-up tests. In many cases, these are the compounds that, in the late ’90s, made Big Pharma more profitable than Big Oil. But if these same drugs were vetted now, the FDA might not approve some of them. Two comprehensive analyses of antidepressant trials have uncovered a dramatic increase in placebo response since the 1980s. One estimated that the so-called effect size (a measure of statistical significance) in placebo groups had nearly doubled over that time.

It’s not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It’s as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger.

The problem is not just that the placebo effect has been growing stronger, but also that it has been systematically eliminated where possible in past studies. The studies are intentionally biased in favor of the active medication.

But, back to the “problem” of the growing placebo effect. There is some speculation in the article that is likely on track.

But why would the placebo effect seem to be getting stronger worldwide? Part of the answer may be found in the drug industry’s own success in marketing its products.

Potential trial volunteers in the US have been deluged with ads for prescription medications since 1997, when the FDA amended its policy on direct-to-consumer advertising. The secret of running an effective campaign, Saatchi & Saatchi’s Jim Joseph told a trade journal last year, is associating a particular brand-name medication with other aspects of life that promote peace of mind: “Is it time with your children? Is it a good book curled up on the couch? Is it your favorite television show? Is it a little purple pill that helps you get rid of acid reflux?” By evoking such uplifting associations, researchers say, the ads set up the kind of expectations that induce a formidable placebo response.

The success of those ads in selling blockbuster drugs like antidepressants and statins also pushed trials offshore as therapeutic virgins—potential volunteers who were not already medicated with one or another drug—became harder to find. The contractors that manage trials for Big Pharma have moved aggressively into Africa, India, China, and the former Soviet Union. In these places, however, cultural dynamics can boost the placebo response in other ways. Doctors in these countries are paid to fill up trial rosters quickly, which may motivate them to recruit patients with milder forms of illness that yield more readily to placebo treatment. Furthermore, a patient’s hope of getting better and expectation of expert care—the primary placebo triggers in the brain—are particularly acute in societies where volunteers are clamoring to gain access to the most basic forms of medicine. “The quality of care that placebo patients get in trials is far superior to the best insurance you get in America,” says psychiatrist Arif Khan, principal investigator in hundreds of trials for companies like Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb. “It’s basically luxury care.”

The placebo effect, in my opinion, takes advantage of the same mechanism as does hypnosis. Irving Kirsch, has speculated much the same.2

Many psychological problems are maintained, in part, by dysfunctional response expectancies, and changing those expectations is an essential part of treatment. Hypnotic inductions alter response expectancies and have been shown empirically to substantially enhance the effects of psychotherapy. Therefore, hypnosis can be used therapeutically as a nondeceptive placebo. Expectancy plays a major role in hypnotic inductions and their effects. …

References
1. Silberman, S. Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why. 8/24/09. Wired.com
2. Kirsch, I. Clinical hypnosis as a nondeceptive placebo: empirically derived techniques. Am J Clin Hypn. 1994 Oct;37(2):95-106.

“I never have been able to really get close to anyone, except George. We’re in love. I know he lives in New York, but he tells me that he would like to divorce his wife to be with me.”

“So, you are really close to George. He lives in New York. You see him twice a year, and he’s married.”

“Yes, but he tells me he’s going to divorce his wife some day so we can be together.”

“And he’s been telling you this for 8 years…”

“Yes.”

When she was 4, her 6-year-old brother was diagnosed with lukemia. He steadily declined, but they still played together, and had spats as siblings often do. One day, they were fighting over a toy, and she punched him in the stomach. The next day, he was taken to the hospital and died. Of course his death had nothing to do with her punching him in the stomach, but her child mind was unable to figure that out. Her mother told her, “Johnny went to heaven. He’s not coming back.” This was the end of the discussion. Nobody ever talked about it. She wasn’t able to understand what had happened, let alone be able to express her fear that she might have been responsible for his death.

“I’ve had a bit of a drug problem. I’ve been smoking crack cocaine. I drive my wife nuts. Everything is perfect in my life. I’m successful at my job. I have a beautiful wife and four children. I own my own home. I’ve never really felt happy or content. I’ve always had a feeling of emptiness….like something is missing.”

“So everything is perfect in your life, except that you have never been happy or content. You drive your wife nuts, and you’ve always felt empty. Was there anyone close to you that died when you were a child?”

“Yes, my sister. My dad paid a guy to burn down our house for insurance money, but my sister was killed in the fire.”

“And you got out?”

“Yes, and she was killed by smoke inhalation.”

“And what method have you been using to try to kill yourself?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Is there anything you are doing in your life, that could result in your death? Now this is extremely important. I want you to express it in one word. Please think about this very carefully before you answer.”

“(long pause)…..Smoke….” (begins sobbing uncontrollably for about 5 minutes).

“Did you ever cry about your brother before?”

“No, never. Nobody ever talked about it. Mom and dad got divorced. My whole life was turned upside down.”

“You’ll never think about smoking the same way again will you?”

“No never!!!”

The world of a child is more self-centered than the world of most adults. They tend to interpret events more in terms of having caused the events themselves. Under ideal circumstances, a parent will talk to a child about the death on multiple occasions. They will allow the child to ask questions, mourn, and begin to process what has occurred. However, in both of the above cases, this never happened. It was never discussed.

Just recently, a study was published showing that the death of an infant sibling in childhood has long-term consequences.(1)

Study participants who were born after the death of a sibling reported a lack of family communication, where the event was veiled or treated as a family secret. Seven subjects reported unresolved parental mourning, and 11 were rated high on 1 or more themes of anxiety, including concerns over a future pregnancy.

Half of the participants reported having repeated death-related nightmares.

Many of the study subjects had difficulty understanding the illness and subsequent death of the infant, suggesting that such children would benefit from support.

This study focused on the death of an infant sibling. The death of a sibling which the child had related with for years can have even more significant effects as I described with a couple of examples. If you have a child who has experienced such a loss, I suggest talking to them on several occasions. It may even take some play activities or drawing, which may help the child to be able to express themselves more fully. Adults experiencing such a loss in childhood also benefit from talking about the experience, and yes, being given a chance to mourn the sibling if they did not do so in childhood. Once this occurs, they can begin to form more significant attachments and stop repeating life patterns that are self-destructive.

I’ll write more about this subject in the future, and also on the psychological effects of losing a parent in childhood.

    References:

(1). Death of an Infant Has Lifelong Consequences for Surviving Siblings

I’ll be heading out today on my first long distance motorcycle trip this today.  I’ll be back Monday.

In my practice, laughter takes place in probably 80% of the treatment sessions.  Yes, there may be crying, anger, anxiety, and so forth also, but laughter serves an important role in physical and mental health.  I explain to my patients that when they can laugh about something they have seen as “horrible” it gives them some distance from the issue and fosters more of a sense of control.  It’s really just a great way to discharge feelings in a more pleasant way and causes the body and mind to relax.

When I worked with combat veterans in the past, I was astonished at how many of them had not laughed in decades.  Many of them were still able to laugh and used this as a way of coping.  Others, just couldn’t loosen up enough to do it.  They all found some benefit when they were able to remember how to laugh.

Milton Erickson, M.D., who was the world’s greatest expert on the use of hypnosis for treating psychological difficulties once noted, “It’s not what patients don’t know that’s the problem.  It’s what they know that they don’t know they know.”  In other words, people have all the resources needed in order to make a recovery, and a shrink’s role is to often help them remember what they already know.

PsychCentral has a partial list of the benefits of laughter for physical and mental health here.  It is worth reading, and in your daily life, remember to take a step back from time to time and laugh at every (appropriate) opportunity you get.  It’s also an incredibly useful skill to be able to laugh at yourself.  Try it sometime.  Make a joke at your own expense and laugh.  Hearty bellie laughs are the best.  :lol:

I’m sure you’ve had the experience where you have a new insight or understanding that radically changes your views of the world, your past, your present, or your future.  These are rare events.

But when they occur, they can powerfully alter our perceptions and our approach to life.  For example, about a week ago I had such a moment.  It was, on its face, a rather simple thought.

I’ll get to it in a minute.  You’re curious now aren’t you.  Yes, I ended that question with a period.

What I’ve found in treatment with people is that what is required is one or more powerful insights that radically alter a person’s view of almost everything.  What’s amazing to me is that such insights exist, but they do.  I’ve seen it time and again in my office, and I’ve experienced it a number of times in my own life.  Other ways to describe it might be as a “defining moment.”

The way I think about these kinds of Eureka Moments, is that once they occur, they fundamentally alter the way a whole range of things are seen.  They tie together a wide range of experiences and events in a persons life.  Once they occur, there is no going back to the old way of viewing these things.

So, back to my thoughts this week:

“Since only God is good, then anything that I’ve ever done that is good in my life is because God was working through me.”

Now, this thought may not have the same effect on you as it had on me. That’s because Eureka Moments are very personal to the individual. As a result of this thought, I had a number of other thoughts along those lines. “Everything good I’ve ever done in treatment with my patients is because God was working.” Yes, you understand me correctly, I now give all the credit to God. As a result, I have started to listen to him more when I am working with a patient, and guess what has taken place… I’ll leave that to your imagination.

I apologize for not posting here more frequently. This will change the first week of February. My work schedule has been intense, but this blog is important to me. I have a wide range of issues lined up to blog on when I have more time. My work schedule will change in February, and I plan to get back to posting frequently. I hope you all made it through the holidays unscathed, which for some people is a great time, but for others is miserable.

I’ve written on this subject before, and others are catching on.  John Grohol of PsychCentral writes:

Eight medications for a single child? Heck, I wouldn’t want to see an adult taking that many medications for a psychiatric disorder, much less a child of 10.(1)

Yes, he talked about a report of a child being on 2 antipsychotics, 2 mood stabilizers, 2 stimulants, 1 antidepressant, and another med just for ADHD.  You’ve got to be kidding me.

I wish this surprised me.  It doesn’t.  Dr. Grohol thinks things might be better if the diagnoses were rendered by psychiatrists….maybe…maybe…

…general practitioners and physicians should never be diagnosing a child’s psychiatric condition unless they are a psychiatrist, plain and simple. They might offer a preliminary diagnosis, but then the rule should be that they refer on to a qualified mental health professional (a psychiatrist is fine, but psychologists and other mental health professionals are also well-qualified to properly diagnose and recommend a comprehensive treatment plan).

I’ve evaluated numerous children diagnosed by psychiatrists who were on 4 different classes of medication for ADHD (antipsychotic, mood stablizer, antidepressant, and another med to combat side effects).  As Dr. Grohol notes:

Compared to adults, few studies have been done to ensure the safety and efficacy of many of these psychiatric medications (except for childhood concerns like ADHD). Medications for children are sometimes necessary, absolutely. But it should be done only under the oversight of a specialist in mental health concerns (a psychiatrist) and treatment should, ideally, be conducted through a treatment of team of mixed mental health professionals.

I would urge even more caution that Dr. Grohol.  A psychiatrist will typically spend 15-30 minutes evaluating the issue.  Usually (not always), their only tool is medication.  In my practice, if it is at all feasible, I work with the patient in every way I can think of to avoid medication.  Occasionally, it’s not possible.  But very often it is.  If a psychiatrist wants to put your child on meds, ask if it has been approved for use in children.  There are not many meds that have been, but they are used all the time.

(1). http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/12/15/overprescribing-medications-in-children/

There’s no doubt about it, the average American diet is atrocious. Give us the 44 ounce softdrinks, Big Macs, ice cream, and snack cakes, and we’ll take that every time over a healthy diet of fruit and vegetables. Obesity is referred to as an “epidemic” in America. I agree with all of that.[1] Here’s where I get off of the bus:

Maybe your mother didn’t cry, “Mangia!” when you ate dinner, like mine did. Still, you’re likely to whisper it to yourself. That’s because you possess a simple survival impulse: Eat until sated. Our neanderthink legacy is to store as much energy as possible, since calories were scarce and uncertain for most of human evolutionary history and our metabolism was set to guard against the possibility of starvation tomorrow. The problem is that eating more doesn’t sate us; we merely recalibrate how much we think we need.

Our evolved mind-set on food hinders us in several ways. Our instincts tell us to keep eating well beyond when we are sated. Worse, the foods we crave—calorie-dense fats and sugars—were once rare and valued as a bulwark against starvation; now they’re plentiful and harmful in excess. We don’t crave plants, precisely because they were more abundant in our past. And if we do manage to temporarily gain a handle on the gustatory Disneyland in which we live, our dietary rigor plummets once we’ve lost weight.(1)

So, the notion is that our Neanderthink makes us do it. For the sake of argument, let’s say I concede this point for a moment. What is the recommendation?

We’re good at rationalizations to avoid governing our food intake. We tell ourselves, “I can get away with eating this delicious morsel,” or “It’s too hard to deny myself this scrumptious ice cream.” By yielding to such urges, we ratchet upward the amount of sugar and fat we crave, because we are tampering with a hormonal system finely attuned to the lack of such concentrated energy. On the savannah, the sweetest confection was wild fruit.

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, famously summed up what you need to know to consume healthfully: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” The method by which we might hew to this Paleolithic regimen can also be summed up in seven words: “Dieting gets easier if you don’t cheat.”

So the question is, how do the recommendations actually follow from the just so story? They don’t. It’s just, “Don’t eat too much, and eat mostly plants. Oh yeah, don’t cheat.” But this goes back to the premise of my original post, and that is that the Darwinian Psychology narrative is thought to add scientific authority to whatever is being discussed. Forget the fact that the conclusion does not follow from the premise in the article. That is irrelevant to why these folks invoke a Darwinian just so story. They think it adds credibility. For me, they just prevented the story from being printed out and handed to my patients, which could have been beneficial.

The same periodical also published an article entitled, How to Be a Good Storyteller not long before.(2)

Perhaps they find these articles unrelated, but I found them to be very related:

Stories also entertain, educate, and instill moral values—sometimes all at once. We can all tell narratives, whether in the classroom, the boardroom, or the living room, but it takes practice to become a fine raconteur.

It seems the folks over at Psychology Today have been getting their practice.

—References—
(1) Neanderthink: An Outsize Appetite, Courtesy of Evolution, Nando Pelusi Ph.D., (11/17/08), Psychology Today
(2) How to Spin a Good Story, Brian Andrew, (10/20/08), Psychology Today

—Footnotes—
[1] I have a simple experiment which I use to teach my patients about their diet. This one has to do with sugar, and more specifically folks who are addicted to soft drinks. Go two weeks without any soft drinks (it actually doesn’t matter if it’s a diet soft drink or regular), and then go out and buy the biggest soft drink you can. Then it will be clear to you what it does to your mind and body. This is something that has worked in each case. In fact, the research shows that drinking just one diet soft drink daily increases the risk of being overweight to an extent that is greater than regular soft drinks, although not by much. One diet soft drink daily increases your chances by approximately 42% whereas one sugar filled drink increases your chances by 38%. It goes up with each additional drink per day.

I am going to write an ongoing series on Darwinian Psychology (aka Evolutionary Psychology). Unfortunately, my chosen field (psychology) has probably generated more “just so”(1,2) stories than has biology. Paleontologist and Darwinist, Stephen J. Gould, wrote about “Darwinian Fundamentalism”,(3) and specifically singled out Darwinian Psychology for criticism. He also noted the similarity between Darwinism and fundamentalism:

But since the modern ultras [Ultra Darwinists] push their line with an almost theological fervor, and since the views of founding fathers do matter in religion, though supposedly not in science, Darwin’s own fierce opposition does become a factor in judgment.(3)

Equivalent of Darwinian Just So Story

Equivalent of Darwinian Just So Story

I have noted an interesting phenomena among scientists and in “scientific” writings. Presenting a Darwinian “just so” story for the phenomena that you are discussing seems to provide the research with a veneer of scientific credibility. It is as if a Darwinian “just so” story is a suitable substitute for empirical data.

For those who study persuasion, they will note a similar phenomena in the general population. For example, people dressed in a suit and tie are more persuasive than those not dressed in this manner.(4) Authority is conferred to individuals dressed in this manner. For those of us who worked in an hospital setting in graduate school, we were always excited when we were able to wear a white lab coat, because the patients listened to us better and were more apt to follow our instructions.

As an aside, this may be related to evolutionary factors indicating intelligence. Intelligence among our ancestors may have been displayed by having unique abilities (such as making unique tools or being able to communicate in a way that less intelligent apes could not understand).[1] Over time, our ancestors would have developed a mutation to recognize these symbols as promoting survival, and would have thus been more attracted to individuals who displayed these symbols. [Yes, I'm being sarcastic here.]

So, I hope you enjoy this forthcoming series analyzing pseudoscientific Darwinian Psychology. There is a wealth of material upon which to draw. The motto for this area seems to be, “If it sounds good and references evolution, then it is science.”

—References—

(1) Just So Stories, Wikipedia
(2) Darwin Says “Just So…”
(3) Darwinian Fundamentalism, Stephen J. Gould, (1997)
(4) Perceived Symbols of Authority and Their Influence on Compliance, Bushman, B.J. (1984)

—Notes—
[1]. I have generated a Darwinian Just So Story to help provide credibility to this post. Did it work?

A recent atheist commenter wrote:

so i stumbled upon… “No, it’s not impossible to maintain, and I’m of the opinion that no amount of skepticism is enough.”
Absolute skepticism is arrogance, or at least an utter lack of trust in the experiences and knowledge of others.
You hear something from a friend, but you’re skeptical, so you go look it up. You find ten other people that agree with what your friend said, but you’re skeptical of them. Where does it end?
When people say absolute skepticism is impossible to maintain, they’re not lying; it is impossible. Eventually you have to give in to trust.”

I recently turned atheist. You are right i didn’t have a good relationship with my father. but arrogantly i think i am an absolute skeptic. It hurts my brain, but i think i’m closer to the truth. I would like to be a theist again, when i was happy. now being a atheist, i am depressed. but none the less, I can’t justify believing in Christianity. I wish i could but i can’t. I see so many errors in it. How do you rationally believe in Christianity, [if even possible]?

I’m responding here, not as a shrink, but as a Christian and fellow human being.

I appreciate your comment very much. I can tell from what you wrote that you are distressed by both your skepticism and your atheism. You want to believe, but you have deep doubts. You see all kinds of “errors” with Christianity.

Believe it or not, I at one time, was in a similar position. You have a lot of questions about Christianity. So did I. And we are not alone. All believers have doubts at times. In fact, I think doubt is a necessary part of faith. It wouldn’t be called faith, if there was no doubt. What I would ask you to do is to sincerely pray to God. Say something like, “God, here is what keeps me from believing in you. I want to believe, but I have trouble believing because… Please lead me to the answers of my questions.” And, start to listen for the answers. Do even more than that. Start to seek out the answers. God will accept you with all of your flaws. He accepts me, and I am as flawed as anybody. Don’t seek the answers to your questions because it will make you happy, because believers may have even more challenges. Seek the truth.

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (1)

You ask the question:

How do you rationally believe in Christianity, [if even possible]?

I answer you unequivocally, Yes. You can rationally believe in Christianity. There have been many atheists who have rationally examined the evidence and came to believe. (2,3,4,5,6) God can help you with your skepticism if you let Him.

(1). John 8:31-32 (NASB)
(2). Jesus Among Other Gods, Ravi Zacharias
(3). The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel
(4). The Case for Faith, Lee Strobel
(5). Who Moved the Stone, Frank Morrison
(6). Testimony of the Evangelists, Simon Greenleaf (Full Text Available Online)

Women who deliver vaginally may be more responsive to their newborns in the early postpartum period than those who deliver via cesarean section, new research suggests.1

This has been speculated about for a long time, but new research shows that it is the case. I think it only makes sense. As humans, I think we are automatically more connected with others with whom we have suffered together. But, I think the other point is that this method is more natural (as God intended perhaps). I realize that there are many situations where this is not an option, but I also know that over the years, the decision of vaginal versus cesarean birth has been a matter of convenience. I don’t necessarily mean the woman either. I’ve heard stories about a doctor having to come in on a holiday to deliver a baby, and in order to get it over as soon as possible, opted for cesarean. Or worse, induced the birth and utilized forceps for the most rapid delivery possible. Doctors like their holiday times as much as anyone.

The research also found:

“We found a significant difference in activity in certain cortical and subcortical areas of the brain in this group of mothers who delivered vaginally compared with those who delivered by cesarean section. Broadly speaking, the cortical brain regions are believed to be important for regulating emotions and empathy,” principal investigator James Swain, MD, PhD, FRCPS, told Medscape Psychiatry.

This research is part of a longer term study examining the relationship between bonding at delivery method. The researchers reported that cesarean deliveries have increased from 4.5% in 1965 to 29.1% in 2006. Based on my observations, people who were born via cesarean section are more reactive to sudden changes, scared of surprises, and have more difficulty with life transitions.

1 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/581065?src=rss

I became the victim of one of his most violent crimes, and repressed the memories for 43 years until 2005. Dickinson meticulously planned a gang rape in my honor several days in advance. My life was derailed. I told no one — not even the rapist. Confronting Dickinson would mean acknowledging to myself that the rapes had actually occurred … too horrible for my conscious mind to accept, and at that time, the words drugged or raped never occurred to me. I forced myself into denial, refusing to believe it ever happened. The mind rejects whatever it deems as “unimaginable”. More on that later.1

There is a general defense mechanism that seems to explain all others to one extent or another. That defense mechanism is repression. All defense mechanisms involve a blocking of information from awareness. With the specific defense mechanism of repressed memories, the information is from one’s past. The quote above is from an individual who experienced horrific trauma, repressed it, and then recovered it later.

Freud rejected his earlier notion of widespread sexual abuse as fantasies. He simply could seem to deal with the implications. Later, therapists and shrinks in their exuberance, implanted many false memories through suggestion into their patients. As a result, many psychologists, completely rejected the notion of repressed memories. When what they should have learned is to be very careful, and to understand the issue in great detail. Part of the duty of a physician is, “first, do no harm.” This is also the duty of a shrink. By rejecting out of hand, the possibility of repressed memories, there are folks who will be harmed. I’ve seen a number of folks who thought “something might have happened,” but as far as I can tell nothing did. This is not generally how truly repressed memories emerge.

One also has to be very careful with the use of hypnosis in the recovery of repressed memories. This can easily implant false memories. That said, a very competent psychologist may help someone to recover memories in a very objective and sensitive way.

1 http://www.georgia-tech-rape-victim2.blogspot.com/

I write on the psychological aspects of atheism, because academic psychology and academic tradition has been biased and focused on the psychological aspects of belief in God.  I feel there needs to be a little balance to this issue.  Recently, there has been some research that seems a little more even-handed in the study of belief and disbelief.  It is a very large and ongoing study.

I have noted before, the association between a poor relationship with one’s father and atheism.  Paul Vitz noted this association for the most extreme atheists.  The recent study presents some data on the issue in terms of what atheists and believers say about their relationship with their fathers.

There certainly is a correlation here.  It looks as if approximately 56% of atheists believe that they had a good relationship with their father, whereas, 62% of believers believed they had a good relationship with their fathers.  Granted, that’s only about a 6% difference.  So, while the association I’ve noted between relationship problems with the father and atheism exists.  It does not appear to be the whole story.  I would also point out, that in treatment, that beliefs about one’s relationships with one’s parents often changes during the course of treatment.  Patients often come to see their relationship with their parents in a new light–the light of today’s understanding.  So, I will admit that the relationship may be less strong than what I have presented before, but certainly does exist.  This factor with the mother, is not associated.  The study also did not examine the strength of belief and association with the relationship with one’s parents (which is the notion of Paul Vitz).

I’ve also asserted the following before:

4). They portray themselves as enlightened, intelligent, tolerant, moral, caring, accepting, loving, peaceable, and kind.  And sometimes, they really and truly are.  I’ve known them and met them.  However, they are not tolerant, in general, of the beliefs of “believers.”  They can tolerate anything but that.

I think the data broadly supports this assertion.  You can see more graphs here.

The data does seem to show that atheists (on average), view themselves as more intelligent than the rest of the population.

So, as you can see, 68% of atheists believe they are more intelligent than the average person, whereas, 52% of Christians believe they are more intelligent than the average person.  This is a stronger association than the assocation between the relationship with the father and atheism.  So, this confirms what I’ve stated with respect to intellectual elitism and atheism.  However, I would also state that I have never seen a study of IQ scores of believers vs. atheists.  So it is at least possible that their beliefs about their intelligence are accurate.  But on average, in my opinion, this intellectual elitism does exist.

I will continue to examine these issues in Part VI.

((FOR THE EYES OF A SHRINK ONLY))

Other folks, please read at your own risk. Do I have your interest?

As a shrink, you really need to have several quotes at the ready–quotes possessing wisdom.  Folks come to see you for wisdom, believe it or not.  This is a piece of wisdom taught to me by my mentor.  When folks come to see a shrink, they expect shrinks to have some wisdom.  I’ll present some of the gems that I have acquired over the years.  These are few and far between.  I don’t learn these very often. I quote myself here a couple of times. I hope that’s not too vain.  Are you a non-shrink and still reading?  Hmmmmm.  (Shrink raises one eyebrow, and then looks away while observing non-verbal behavior out of the corner of his eye).

ANGER

“No man is ever made braver through anger, except the one who would never have been brave without anger. It comes, then, not as a help to virtue, but as a substitute for it. And is it not true that if anger were a good, it would come naturally to those who are the most perfect? But the fact is, children, old men, and the sick are most prone to anger, and weakness of any sort is by nature captious.”1

“Be ye angry, and sin not.” (Ephisians 4:26).

“If you do not wish to be prone to anger, do not feed the habit; give it nothing which may tend to its increase.” (Epictetus).

“If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” (Chinese Proverb).

“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” 2

“Anger is part of being human. You’ll never get to a place where you’re never angry. That doesn’t happen for humans. At times, anger drives us to address things that we would not otherwise. So, it can be a positive motivation at times. You can tell it’s not positive by thinking about whether the other person is put beneath you as a human being. If so, then you are out of line.” — The Country Shrink

SUICIDE

“Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” (Author unknown)

“Folks who commit suicide make it more likely that their children or relatives will do the same. There is nothing more harmful to family members than for one of the family members to commit suicide. I’ve worked with people who had a family member commit suicide as a child. There are few traumas that are worse.” –The Country Shrink

…. To Be Continued–You didn’t expect me to reveal all of the scant wisdom I have in one post, did you? ….

What, you’re not a shrink and you’re still reading? For shame. For shame. Who woulda thought it?

1 http://praxeology.net/seneca2.htm
2 http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/29885.html

 

February 2010
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