What do they REALLY think?

Much of my work in b4Worldview centers around exploring what students say they think and what they actually think. These are called "explicit beliefs" and "implicit assumptions." Churches and other ministries want to train students to "think correctly," but they almost always are only getting to the students explicit beliefs. One thing b4Worldview does is engage the student in ways that "get to" their implicit assumptions. In doing so, we can capture both what they say they think and what they REALLY think.

Here is an example. Students are taught that Jesus wants us to love our enemies and pray for those who reject us. He also says it is easy to love those who love us but what about loving those who don’t. After all, God loved us while we were yet sinners. When asked what they believe about loving our enemies, they will generally answer that we should (explicit belief). Then, on facebook somebody posts, “so many people love you so don’t focus on the people who don’t.”  Christians “like” this post a lot and comment about how encouraging it is to them to read this (implicit assumption). So what do the students’ REALLY believe.

To be effective at such student engagements, we measure both their explicit beliefs and implicit assumptions. This can be confusing for leaders whose mission is training young Christians. Here is a brief description of how to measure each.

 When measuring explicit beliefs, provide a specific context that orients the respondent to “think correctly” before answering. Implicit assumptions occur when there is no context other than normal everyday life and the respondent must navigate ambiguity as to what is the best way to “think correctly.” The answer the respondent gives provides the context that the respondent is most likely to provide him/herself absent some authority oversight.

 When implicit assumptions, which naturally bias the respondent, are not aligned with their explicit beliefs, then the respondent will struggle to appropriate their explicit beliefs.  The respondent’s explicit beliefs will be limited in how effective they can influence the individual’s thoughts, feelings, or choices in normal everyday settings. Moreover, any implicit assumptions that are not consistent with an explicit belief will restrict the understanding the respondent has of that belief. Thus, while it appears the respondent is “thinking correctly” to those in authority, he/she is actually not doing so deep down in their soul.

Maybe, just maybe, the issue of misaligned explicit beliefs and implicit assumptions occur more often than in young Christians. It's possible this is pervasive in Christians of any age. 

Maybe, just maybe, this is what pastors are trying to get at when they encourage the congregation to be Christian 7 days a week, not just on Sunday.

That's one thing I ponder ....