Praying Mantis

This little lady was in one of our spirea bushes. She sure picked a good place to be camouflaged. Click to enlarge.

Personality or Predicament?

Psychologists have argued for years now about how to interpret why people act as they do. When we observe Joe behaving in a certain way, do we attribute it to his personality or to his current predicament? Is it nature or nurture? Was Joe's action due to his inherent, peculiar character or did the particular situation he was in cause his response?

While psychologists love to bicker over the real cause, most of us ordinary folks lean towards thinking that what Joe did was due to his personality. After all, we may know, for example, that he is considered to be an extrovert (not an introvert), or he's a pretty agreeable guy (not argumentative), or he's shown himself to be conscientious (not slapdash), or we know him to be a positive dude (not negative), or to be open-minded (not intolerant). We have come to know Joe over time and attribute one or more of these possible traits to him, as we see him consistently behave in a certain (and even predictable) manner.

But wait—some psychologists will contend that Joe may, for example seem to be an agreeable guy most of the time, but didn't someone see him being quite belligerent yesterday? Maybe he was stressed out and his boss was being unreasonable, and Joe uncharacteristically flashed out. Yeah, he may be an easy-going guy most of the time, but the situation he finds himself in can control what he does.

So is it personality or predicament? There seems to be scientific evidence that both play a role—one being more important at a given time than the other. Some folks will argue that one's personality is something that can be consistently observed over time; that a person's response is even quite predictable. In the short term, however, the situation may be quite variable and thus very unpredictable. For example, Joe may most of the time be the kind of guy who always shows up on time—or even early. We can count on him to be there when the show starts. But that may be just when the situation is normal. If he had a flat tire, he could be late.

Another interesting aspect of the personality-or-predicament debate is, if personality is important, how consistent over long periods of time will that person be? If Joe has long been seen to be a conscientious guy, can we expect that behavior to persevere? Can Joe change his personality? Might he become a little careless, in his golden years? That could be considered to be a turn for the worse. Is that what happens, or do people tend to become more positive in their traits, over time?

There is a school of psychology that contends that personality is important, and that we in fact do change for the better over time. Even if we disagree whether personality is more important than the situation, we'd like to believe that we can improve with age. Shouldn't the acquisition of a modicum of wisdom over the years nudge us in the direction of change for the better? Don't we want to believe that we become more agreeable, conscientious, and resilient with age?

Whatever the case—whether personality or predicament governs our behavior—I think we can say that both are important. We are not automatons that predictably respond in a certain way. I'm a believer in free will—that we can change how we respond. We go way beyond the instinctive response that most other animals have. We are in charge, and we can change—despite how a certain situation might evoke certain feelings in us. 

Blanket Flowers

I'm growing blanket flowers for the first time this year. They're so beautiful that it'll happen again next year. Notice the beetles on the one blossom. Each blossom is about 2 inches (5 centimeters) across. Click to enlarge.

Churlish Churchgoing Children?

Religion has long been humanity's principle source of moral guidance... at least that's what most people have maintained. The conviction is that we humans easily stray from the moral path, or never find it in the first place, without following the precepts of some religious teachings. And indeed, many people have derived comfort and purpose in life from their religions.

That's why the results of a study published in November 2015 in the journal Current Biology are very surprising. The paper, coauthored by seven researchers form universities around the world, is titled “The Negative Association between Religiousness and Children's Altruism Across the World.” What this broad study discovered, after the researchers evaluated some 1200 kids (ages 5-12) from six countries, is that those kids who were religious were less likely to be concerned about the welfare of others than were nonreligious children. In other words, the prosocial behavior of religious kids was consistently found to be less than for kids raised in a secular household. That's remarkable!

The study evaluated kids who fell into three main religious categories: Muslim, Christian, and nonreligious. Besides having fewer altruistic feelings, the religious kids also were more punitive minded and more judgmental than kids raised in secular households—especially the older kids (those near 12). Another surprising result is that the religious parents who were interviewed during this study felt that their children were more empathetic than nonreligious kids—quite opposite to the study's findings.

These results are indeed surprising. Some religious people will no doubt claim the study is invalid. Atheists will, in contrast, site the results as verifying their current beliefs. Such is the behavior of a polarized world. This one study's findings are unlikely to change people's minds.

Several of the questions raised by this study, however, are important to ponder, I think. Is religion vital for moral development, as many religious people have long believed? Can people become ethical when they are raised outside a religious tradition? How can we explain the results of this study? Why is it that nonreligious kids were found to be more prosocial? Does religion really have a corner on morality? Do these results suggest further studies that may shed more light on the issue? (Such controversial results always do.)

The authors did not attempt to interpret their findings—that would go beyond the scientific bounds of their work. Their intent was not to explain why these findings occurred. (We might look to philosophy for that.) Despite the fact that some people would take issue with their results, the study followed rigorous scientific protocol and they did interview a wide spectrum of children. More insights may come in the future. The findings certainly go against the grain of society's long-held beliefs. I think it is simply useful to hear about these unexpected and contrary results and to open our minds to the possibilities they may imply.

Giant Silkworms

As best I can tell, this is a giant silkworm that will morph into one of several types of moths, here in Virginia. I found it this morning, as if sleeping off an earlier big meal. Click to enlarge.

Wood Thrush Summer

We recently passed our 32^nd anniversary of living out here in this blessed wilderness. By now we've pretty well come to understand what this place has to offer, and look forward each year to what stand-out experiences nature will be providing. Each season brings its exceptional offerings and phenomena, and it's fun to pause from our daily tasks and devote some time and attention to those exceptions. Questions we pose ourselves: What has made this summer special and different? What has been particularly bountiful in the vegetable garden? What events will we experience and remember for years to come? Is this a one-time event, or is it similar to an exceptional experience that occurred a decade ago? How do we assimilate all this?

These are simple pleasures—but they are pleasures, because we have the time and inclination to pay attention to them and enjoy them. On the evenings when I soak in the outdoor tub, I often let my mind wander over and savor this year's recent special events. Not all are joyous, of course. The gnats may have been especially pesky, or several weeks may have passed now without a decent rain, but that's all part of the flow; and we have learned a key lesson in life: the unpleasant experiences soon fade from memory, as the fine ones persist.

As I was soaking in the tub recently, in this mental mode of appreciating what Mother Nature offers, I was being regaled by wood thrush songs. I've written in this blog a few times about the fact that no avian singer around here tops the wood thrush, as to its spectacular singing voice. They have a song that constantly changes, is incredibly melodic, and literally stops you in your tracks (or hot tub reveries)—forcing you to pay homage to its call.

I've also written about how the wood thrush population is in decline in the Americas, and that we've noted fewer and fewer of them out in the woods each summer. Habitat destruction in both the United States (its summer home) and Latin America (its winter abode) threatens their existence.

After the last few years of many fewer wood thrush songs, this summer has been very special. It's literally a wood thrush summer! Not only do we hear several of them calling out, but they are much closer to the clearing this year. (The wood thrush prefers dense forest, so it's a treat when they approach the clearing.) When they are near, we can clearly discern each part of their intricate call—especially that third part: a high-pitched melodic trill that is amazing.

With so many thrushes calling at once—sometimes we've heard three or four in competition—they really provide a show! And it is a form of rivalry. I'm sure they do hear each other and try to best their rival. We can hear them pause, listen to their challenger, and respond. So what's the cause of these calls? Are they still vying for mates this late in the season? Is it just a song competition? We don't know. Sometimes it's as if they are egotistical opera stars—competing for the lead role at La Scala.

Is each wood thrush aware of how well he's doing, relative to his competition? Is each of them aware of how superior is his song, compared to the squawks and simple whistles of the titmouse? Is his aesthetic judgment anything like ours? Does he compare the complexity and beauty of his call to that of his rivals? Does he realize that he is the premier songster of this forest? I would guess that most of the beauty we perceive and the pleasure we derive are not necessarily shared by him.

He's probably just trying to become alpha bird—the most intimidating and admired thrush of the forest. I doubt that he has any comprehension of the joy he brings to our ears. I wish we could make him aware of our appreciation, but I doubt that he'd understand. Let's just call it grace.

Cricket Swim

I caught a cricket trying to take a bath in my outdoor tub. I rescued him before he drowned. Click to enlarge.