5 ms·
Fun fact: the researcher mentioned here, Herbert Benson, was also the leader of a big study of intercessory prayer, which divided patients into (1) a control gr
by gjm11 7y ago
Fun fact: the researcher mentioned here, Herbert Benson, was also the leader of a big study of intercessory prayer, which divided patients into (1) a control group, (2) a group that were prayed for but weren't told that, and (3) a group that were prayed for and were told that; the only statistically significant effect they found was that knowing you are being prayed for is apparently associated with worse outcomes.
- mistrial9 7y agolets reproduce that study, why not
- jl2718 7y agoSympathy is a social incentive to be unwell.
- homonculus1 7y agoOr people resort to prayer when there's no other hope.
- porthas 7y agoYeah, I think that's what it is. "Sending our thoughts and prayers" lost its actual impact and now it's associated with hopelessness.
- eurasiantiger 7y agoFostering a survivor mindset. It will make one expect hardships and ultimately create them. Don’t survive, thrive.
- itronitron 7y agothat helps explain why thoughts and prayers is so popular on Fox News
- raymondh 7y agoConfounding variable for prayer studies: God knows who is in each group and can control the outcome of the study.