Bradley Wright on the Science of Sinning

tonygill — Sun, 13 Aug 2017 08:00:24 +0000

Proverbs 25:28 states, “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” The lack of self-control is often a pathway into religious sin. To discover what self-control is and what promotes self-control (or the lack thereof), we invited Prof. Bradley Wright (University of Connecticut, Sociology) to discuss his latest research that appeared as a lead article in Christianity Today (April 2017). To be honest, we’re not talking about sinning per se, but rather about self-control. Prof. Wright provides a definition of self-control, we cite a few Bible verses to give the topic some credibility for a podcast on religion, and then dive into the factors that enhance or detract from self-control. Definitionally, self-control represents the ability to align our short-term desires with our long-term goals, whatever those may be. As such, the exercise of self-control is often context specific. Brad points out all the personal and social benefits that the exercise of self-control can bring about, but Tony challenges this assertion by pointing out that Keith Moon of The Who was one of the greatest rock drummers ever. Brad counters by saying that self-control need not be practiced in all areas of life and that rock stars, no matter how out-of-control with booze and drugs still maintain some levels of self-control in other realms such as practicing and showing up for concerts. We then survey some of the earlier research done by Brad’s colleague Roy Baumeister (Florida State) and the interesting experiment he did with undergraduate students, cookies, and radishes. We learn that there are two types of self-control: trait and state. The former represents one’s underlying personality and tends to be fixed in the long-term. State self-control on the other hand varies throughout the days and weeks. We learn that self-control tends to be strongest in the morning and wanes on specific days, most notably Tuesday and Wednesday. Self-control is also determined by habit (automated self-control) and effort (controlled self-control). It is noted that conscious effort to exert self-control often leads to “ego depletion,” or the exhaustion of the ability to be in control. Habit formation, on the other hand, allows an individual to maintain a steady path of control over time with little effort. Prof Wright then reviews what the SoulPulse project is, noting that data collection ended after a 3 1/2 year effort back in April. Using data mined from thousands of users over the course of days and weeks, Brad and his team were able to determine that there were two major factors that influenced state-based self-control. These were the quality of sleep one had the night before, with better sleep yielding more self control, and the proximity of interpersonal conflict. Having experienced an argument or other conflict with someone recently reduced one’s self-control. Both of these factors had very strong effects on one’s willpower, stronger than Brad had anticipated. He also noted that individuals who are highly religious (self-reported) tended to exhibit greater amounts of self-control overall, representing “trait self-control.” Tony asks whether those who prayed frequently were able to enhance their self-control given that personal meditation is thought to reduce the tensions associated with interpersonal conflict. Brad admitted to not examining that variable, but said he would get right on it. (We will follow up to see if he does.) The interview concludes with Prof. Wright discussing how his own personal life has been affected by his studies of self-control and a TedX Talk by BJ Fogg about how little habits can help change your life. He “brags” about his one burpee a morning regiment and how that helped him to routinize exercise and build up to a more vigorous program. He also finishes off with some hints at new research to come. Recorded: August 1, 2017.

Ron Hassner on Religion on the Battlefield

tonygill — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 08:00:40 +0000

Why were Catholic chaplains in the British Army more likely to die at the frontlines than their Anglican counterparts in World War I? Prof. Ron Hassner (UC-Berkeley) explains that this odd phenomenon can be traced to the importance of religious ritual in affecting how military combat is conducted. The ritualistic importance to Catholics of administering last rites to dying soldiers meant that Catholic chaplains tended to be amongst combatants when bullets were flying. We use this initial “mini case study” to illustrate Prof. Hassner’s broader theme of how religion plays an important role in the management of combat, a theme addressed in his new book Religion on the Battlefield. Ron continues the discussion by noting how much of the literature on religion and war focuses on the role of ideas as a motivator for engaging in conflict. However, he argues that the common practices (e.g., fasting, Sabbaths) and special holy day (e.g. Yom Kippur, Ramadan) observances that people observe ritualistically play as much of, if not a greater, role in conditioning the conduct of military affairs. He explains that the effects of these rituals are varied and can become force multipliers (that push combat forward) or force inhibitors (that divert fighting to other times and/or places). He also notes that there are multiple effects that can come about from taking seriously the religious practices of one’s own soldiers or those of the opposing army. These effects including using to motivate, provoke, exploit, or inhibit the conduct of war. Ron refers to multiple examples to illustrate these points including the Bombing of Rome and the Battle of Monte Cassino (the importance of “sacred space”), and the Yom Kippur War and Tet Offensive (the importance of “sacred time”). Our conversation then turns to the role that military chaplains play on the battlefield, with particular emphasis on how they can effect the mental health of soldiers during and after combat. Ron finishes with some reflections on his path-breaking career and offers up some useful advice for graduate students and young scholars. Recorded: August 18, 2016.

Research On Religion » The Who

Bradley Wright on the Science of Sinning

Ron Hassner on Religion on the Battlefield