29 August 2007

Whatever is ... true ... lovely ... noble ... think about such things

How intriguing is this?
Prof. Ara Norenzayan found that priming people with 'god concepts' -- by activating subconscious thoughts through word games -- promoted altruism. In addition, the researchers found that this effect was consistent in behaviour whether people declared themselves believers or not. The researchers also found that secular notions of civic responsibility promote cooperation and generosity.

I need to ponder this more, as it's related to some reading I have just finished (A Mind of its Own) dealing with the experimental psychology results on schemas and stereotypes.
ScienceDaily: Thinking About God Leads To Generosity, Study Suggests:

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"Spend and tax" not "tax and spend"

 I got a response from my MP which got me kind of mad. You'll see why as I reproduce it here. Apologies for the strange changes in types...