by mrssauk 25 Replies latest watchtower bible
Interesting. If I run that phrase through my JWborg doublespeak translator one of the alternative phrases is self-control = obedience to WT.
Well that makes much more sense as there are all those JWs willfully not donating, slackening off from their meeting attendance, thinking their own thoughts, visiting apostate websites, sueing the WT, protesting against the WT, the list goes on and on what more proof do they need of lack of obedience oops I mean "self-control."
This is a classic example of the kind of cherry picking and mis-application of research that I was guilty of when I worked as a researcher and writer for the Australian branch writing desk. If the article mentioned above was indeed referring to the same studies the Watchtower was referring to, all it shows is that Children had greater difficulty at physical regulation as similar aged children from 60 years ago. It says nothing about adults. It says nothing about moral or behavioural self-control - that is inferred without evidence by the commentary on the study. It is not saying that children are becoming more unregulated, at most it is showing that they are taking a few more years in age to become better at regulating themselves....
Neither the Watchtower, nor that article, actually references the original study so it is impossible for one to look up the methodology used to confirm wether the study was a good one or not (in terms of the number of participants, how they were elected, how the measurements were done, and how the data was interpreted etc)
Even if this study was of the highest calibre, this one isolated test alone does not prove a point, more research would be needed to show the results could be duplicated for starters and to provide more context and meaning.
To draw the very long bow that this study is proof of some "sign of the times" is extremely intellectually dishonest and nothing more than propaganda.
"Today's 5-year-olds were acting at the level of 3-year-olds 60 years ago, and today's 7-year-olds were barely approaching the level of a 5-year-old 60 years ago," Bodrova explains. "So the results were very sad."
Does anyone know what studies is referred to, because I can't find anything...
Based on the lack of details, probably it's either made up, not reputable, obsolete to the bone, a lie, a study conducted by themselves, focused on something completely unrelated, or any combination of the above.
Why a study from the 40's? Psychology and the way we understand and interpret human behavior has changed quite a lot since the 40s.
Also, I did a simple google search on the matter, and found quite a few articles on psychology that, to my surprise, do the exact same thing. They say things like "Studies demonstrate that exercising willpower makes heavy demands on mental energy..." without citing the source.
Hmm... now I'm curious about the psychology of self control.
Yep Watchtower is at the forefront of the latest information. Really 70 year old info? Watchtower is famous for getting there standards from junk science.
Scratchy - Why a study from the 40's?
A good question. Especially considering how the WBT$ don't like anyone studying their whacky propaganda from that era.
Here's a whacky quote from them
"Man on earth can no more get rid of these demonic `heavens' (the organization of wicked spirits) than man can by airplane or rockets or other means get up above the air envelope which is about our earthly globe and in which man breathes." (The Truth Shall Make You Free, 1943, p. 285)
Studies have shown that 78% of the references made to studies are bullshit.
recent studies have shown that people have become much worse at exercising self-discipline.
It is amazing that they feel no need to reference these studies, or describe at all anything about what the research was. The writers assume the readers will display total acceptance. Since JW's accept what is written without question, why do they even say there were any studies, and not just dogmatically state that self-discipline has become worse the deeper we enter the last days?
what a lazy pointless stupid heading, "self control is getting worse" yes we are seeing a world wide epidemic in worsening self control , in other news traffic is getting worse also.
The Awake magazine used to have a bibliography in the back of every issue. That gave me reassurance that actual research was being done to back up some of the statements made in the mag. I could point that out to people at the door as evidence that this was a quality magazine. I could go to the library if something piqued my interest.
When they decided that they needed that page for stupid "letters to the editor" from 7 year old children whose mommy or daddy helped to compose them, I was disgusted about it. But my faith pulled me through that early warning. I persevered and continued to waste years of my life.
Somebody do a study on THAT!
JWFacts - The writers assume the readers will display total acceptance.
True say. Sadly, the R&F(tm) will not think for themselves. I think, partly through conditioning not to question or laziness or fear of finding that their cult is a scam.
Jooky - in other news
.....something worth bothering about. Obviously, something outside of WBT$ fear mongering propaganda.
I am still gobsmacked by the ref to 1940. What the flip?
