H.S. For Sunday 012708

Talk About Psychobabble

He folks,

This one? {Sigh} In the Health and Science segment this week, I saw this article that got my attention. I was actually interesting in what it had to say. The title of this is Loneliness Breeds Belief in Supernatural. OK, sounds interesting. But then I read it. Live Science.com - Loneliness Breeds Belief in Supernatural Fri Jan 25, 7:35 AM ET by Andrea Thompson

People who feel lonely are more likely to believe in the supernatural, whether that is God, angels or miracles, a new study finds.

So not only are you stupid, but lonely as well. But I can somewhat see the logic in this being a possibility. You know, the way some single people treat their pets. But then again, some people always treat their pets as family. Some people always talk to their cars, themselves, imaginary friends, etc. Even if they are married, have lots of friends, they still do this. However, I was still interested at this point, so I read on.

Humans have evolved as social creatures, so loneliness cuts to the quick. Living in groups was critical to the survival and safety of our ancient ancestors, and complete isolation or ostracism has been tantamount to a death sentence, said University of Chicago researcher Nicholas Epley, who led the study.

STOP! OK, so we evolved from our ancient ancestors that needed to huddle together to survive? Mr. Epley? You wouldn’t be an Evolutionist would you? Perhaps YOU do not believe in God, or the Supernatural so those that do must be forced to by loneliness? Or there is some other mental disorder? Intelligent and rational people can not possibly believe in such things. Right? I kept reading.

While group living isn't critical to survival in the modern world, feeling socially connected is. Feeling isolated and lonely is a very painful emotional state for people, Epley said, and can lead to ill health, both physically and mentally.

Being socially isolated is just not good for you, he said.

Says WHO? Folks, Let me tell you something. When I was in the Hotel Business, I met hundreds of people every day. From the rich and famous, the average Joe, and all the way to the bum on the street. No matter who it was, no matter how I felt, no matter my mood, I turn on the smile, even if empty at times, and the charm. At the end of the day, when I was alone in my home, in the silence, I was happy as can be.

For five years I lived alone. I was happy. For five years in different jobs, I was always happiest when I could find the silence. I even wrote a poem about it. Basically I said, “You can keep the glitter and gold, I’m happiest when I’m alone.” Do not worry, I’m not sharing the whole thing with you. {Smile} I have never understood why some people DO seem to need that connection, so I read on.

When people feel lonely, they may try to rekindle old friendships, seek out new ones or, as Epley's study suggests, they may create social connections by anthropomorphizing nearby gadgets, such as computers or cars, pets, or by believing in supernatural events or religious figures.

Pets and religion

In their study, detailed in the February issue of the journal Psychological Science, Epley's team tried to induce feelings of loneliness in people to see how it affected how they thought of pets and their belief in religious figures.

In one experiment, college undergraduates were shown movie clips and told to try and empathize with the protagonist as best they could, in order to set them in one of three emotional states.

OK, THIS is where my intellect took over. This is where I could no longer follow this illogical babble.

One group was shown a clip from Cast Away, the movie in which the main character played by Tom Hanks is deserted on a remote island, in order to induce a feeling of isolation. The second group was shown a clip from the crime thriller The Silence of the Lambs to promote a sense of fear. A third, control group was shown a clip from the sports comedy feature film Major League.

All three groups were then asked to describe a pet they owned or knew well and pick three traits from a list that best described them. The list included anthropomorphic traits that related to social connections (thoughtful, sympathetic) and simple behavioral descriptions (aggressive, energetic, fearful).

Participants from the loneliness group were more likely to describe the pet using the anthropomorphic descriptions than those in the fear or control groups.

Uh-ha.

All three groups were also asked to rate their belief in ghosts, angels, the devil, miracles, curses, and God, and again, those in the loneliness group reported stronger belief in these supernatural agents.

I got news for you, those that believe, BELIEVE. Those that do not, do not. They most likely used those they though would be most effected in each group. That would make sense. But if I do not believe something, sorry, watching a movie is not going to make me.

Future predictions

In another part of their study, Epley and his colleagues asked participants from the University of Chicago to fill out a personality questionnaire and were then told that the answers would be fed to a computer which would generate a future-life prediction for them. Half of the participants were read statements implying they would be lonely later in life, while the other half were told they would be socially connected for the rest of their lives.

We tried to manipulate their loneliness, to make them feel lonely, Epley said.

{Sigh} You CAN'T make someone feel lonely. But this guy, Epley, thinks people can use mind control on others. That is actually true folks. I fully believe this from experience. It truly is amazing what you can get people to do by using the right words and tones, body language, and suggestions. But if he did this with these groups, then one would have to ask, how accurate the results.

The participants were then asked to rate their belief in the same supernatural agents in the other study, and those in the lonely group reported stronger belief than those in the connected group. The results were also compared to ratings the participants gave before they got their life predictions, and those who reported a belief in God before and were made to feel lonely reported a stronger belief after the experiment.

We found that inducing people to feel lonely made them more religious essentially, Epley told LiveScience, though he notes it won't cause any sudden conversions.

Health benefits

Owning pets and religious beliefs and practices are both known to increase a person's sense of well-being, but why exactly that is isn’t well known, Epley said.

Epley and his colleagues plan to probe the issue further to see if anthropomorphizing pets or believing in anthropomorphized supernatural agents is what is responsible for alleviating feelings of loneliness. If it is, it could provide alternate means for people to feel socially connected when connecting to humans isn't an option.

So go to a Psychobabboligist and tell him/ her that you fell lonely and they will tell you to believe in God? {Laughing}

There are health benefits that come from being connected to other people, and those same benefits seem to come from connection with pets and with religious agents, too, Epley said.

So who is This guy?

Nick Epley is an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Before moving to the University of Chicago GSB, he was an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Harvard University. His current research interests are primarily focused on mind-reading—how, and how well, people can intuit others’ thoughts, feelings, and internal mental states, ranging from inferences made about other humans, non-human animals, as well as religious agents. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, and has been published in psychology, management, decision-making, and behavioral economics journals. He received his B.A. from St. Olaf College in 1996, and his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2001.

In other words, he is a Psychobabboligist. Sorry, but I just do not by this. If you like being alone, be alone. If you like talking to your pets and treating them like one of your family members, then do it. If you believe in God, you are smarter than this guy, and you should not be insulted by idiots like this.

There are so many things wrong with these studies, it’s not even worth discussing any further. What were the questions? How were they asked? What was the surroundings of the participates when they participated in this study? How were they selected?

Sorry, I just find this to be more bogus Psychobabble bunk.
Peter