News:

Look, I haven't mentioned Zeus, Buddah, or some religion.

Main Menu

Hi everyone!

Started by atheist_researcher, October 28, 2016, 08:43:25 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

atheist_researcher

Hi all! 
I'm new here, just wanted to introduce myself.  I'm a grad student in psychology where I study religion and decision-making; sometimes I also study atheism.  Looking forward to reading and joining discussions!

Dave

Hello, going to do your survey here as well?

Not that it concerns me since I'm a Brit!
Tomorrow is precious, don't ruin it by fouling up today.
Passed Monday 10th Dec 2018 age 74

Pasta Chick

K... And what would your leanings be?

Recusant

Hello and welcome to HAF, atheist_researcher. So, are you studying how religion affects people's decisions? If so, that sounds like a field that could produce interesting results.

Anyway, here are some threads you might take a look at to familiarize yourself with this place:

Where did you get your username from?
10 Things About Yourself
Tell us A Bit About Where You're From
Photography
Non-religious pet peeves
Pets...what do you have?
How to tell your family you are an atheist
"Rules for Conducting a Discussion" by Dr. Mortimer J. Adler

. . . And of course, the Forum Rules.

I hope you enjoy your time reading and posting here!  :welcome:


"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Essie Mae

Hello Atheist-researcher. Welcome. We're all looking fwd to knowing you and hope you're wanting to be friends with us as well as seeing us as a useful, group of subjects. What's the current theory on how religion affects decision-making?
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. Wm Shakespeare


Tom62

The universe never did make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract.
Robert A. Heinlein

xSilverPhinx

Welcome, atheist researcher! :wave hi:

What kind of decisions do you study exactly? How is decision-making tied in with religion and/or atheism? Because to me being an atheist isn't exactly a conscious choice, and I'm assuming those on the other side of the spectrum feel the same way.

Looking forward to some interesting discussions!
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


OldGit

Greetings, atheist_researcher! I hope you'll find some useful material here, and also that you have a bit of fun too.

solidsquid

Quote from: atheist_researcher on October 28, 2016, 08:43:25 PMI'm a grad student in psychology...

I'd like to offer my sincerest condolences for your current situation.  I spent way too much time as a health psych grad student.

Anyhow, welcome aboard, glad to have you here.

atheist_researcher

Hello, and thanks for a warm welcome! 
A couple quick answers to questions: 
-No I'm not going to post my survey here
-I'm not sure what you mean by "my leanings"
-Some general things about religion and decision making:
  I think it's a fascinating area and there is quite a bit of research on how highly religious people are less effective at logical reasoning,    higher IQs predict lower religiosity, and intuitive reasoning promotes religious belief.  I hope to continue to add to this kind of research by studying things like the standards of evidence that religious and non-religious people use, confirmation bias, and how religion and science interact. 
-Personally, I'm fascinated with problem solving, logical decision making, and how people search for information, like on the internet or in the news, and what are the qualities of 'convincing information.'  I think this is especially important when educating people about science in general, but also when sharing information about evolution, climate change, vaccinations, polls, etc.

Anyways, I did spend some time browsing different forums (yes I was looking for places to post a survey but I was also looking for forums to browse for fun).  I am enjoying life as a grad student but I don't have a lot of time for leisure. I have bookmarked this site, so I'll probably pop in and out from time to time.

I have to say, though, that the title "Happy atheist" and the intro page are a big draw for me, as I'm not too attracted to sites and forums that are very militant and focused on debating and arguing.

Anyways, thanks again for the welcome and cheers!

Arturo

Ello old chum! Top for o' spot of a tea on the barley innet?
It's Okay To Say You're Welcome
     Just let people be themselves.
     Arturo The1  リ壱

Tank

Quote from: Apathy on October 31, 2016, 07:24:49 AM
Ello old chum! Top for o' spot of a tea on the barley innet?
Dick Van Dyke would be proud of you!  :grin:
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Dave

#12
@ atheist_researcher

Ah, so that is why you dropped out of The Thinking Atheist then? I agree there are some nasty types there, but every group has its goodies and baddies.  I would have thought that a true researcher could filter out the aggression to estimate the basic "belief" pattern below. The very violence of attitude itself is, surely, worthy of comparison of the similar violence of attitude on some theist forums? Thus one could possibly remove some of the common factors of human nature and expose more of the differences?

It surprises me that any student avoids debate and discussion, long time since I was a student but, barring the head bangers, debate and discussion are so often the food of thought, the trigger of new ideas.

With regards to your "leanings", we get a lot of theists posing as researchers or authors who are basically looking for a way to evangelize, or even simply troll.  Your use-name could mean "atheist-who-researches" or "one-who-researches-atheists". The latter is ambiguous.
Tomorrow is precious, don't ruin it by fouling up today.
Passed Monday 10th Dec 2018 age 74

Essie Mae

Quote from: atheist_researcher on October 31, 2016, 02:55:34 AM
Hello, and thanks for a warm welcome! 
-I'm not sure what you mean by "my leanings"
-Some general things about religion and decision making:
  I think it's a fascinating area and there is quite a bit of research on how highly religious people are less effective at logical reasoning,    higher IQs predict lower religiosity, and intuitive reasoning promotes religious belief. 

Well that's a bit sobering. It was logical thinking that eventually saved me but only when for various reasons I was away from Christian influence for a while. Religion is very repressive but you don't realise it at he time and that is where your social life and friends are.
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. Wm Shakespeare


OldGit

Quote from: Essie MayReligion is very repressive but you don't realise it at he time and that is where your social life and friends are.

Yes, I think that's behind a lot of it.