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Abstract: surveys and analysis of the personal adoption of virtues among Mormons and Bahá'ís. Notes: Delivered at the North America ABS Conference in San Francisco, October 1995. This paper was awarded the prize for multiple-author research. A further treatment of some of the points raised in this presentation can be found in Sandra Fotos' "Strategies for Spiritualization" in the Journal of Bahá'í Studies 9:1 (1999), 1-25.
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Investigating Spiritualization:
Noticing, Processing and the Function of Time
by Sandra S. Fotos and Lynne Hansen
1995-10Abstract: A language-based cognitive model of the process of spiritualization was recently proposed which suggests that noticing a desired virtue or quality in the behavior of others is a key complement to increased awareness of the virtue gained through study of holy writings, praying or through other formal instructional situations. To investigate this role for noticing and awareness, two linguistics, one a Mormon and the other a Bahá'í, administered a survey to 250 members of their respective religions. An open-ended essay asked the respondents to indicate which virtues and qualities they wanted to develop in themselves and which they noticed in the behavior and attitudes of people around them. In addition, respondents were asked to rate themselves on their possession of eleven virtues determined by the investigators to be important to both Mormons and Bahá'ís. A further item related the length of time the respondent had been a member of the religion or had participated in a Mission with the respondent's total spiritualization score. Analysis of the results suggests that both groups noticed virtues which they sought to acquire. In addition, the role of time or participation in a highly focused spiritual activity was positively correlated with virtue acquisition.
Introduction
In this paper spiritualization is defined as the process whereby individuals develop and manifest those inherent qualities and attributes identified by the world's religions as befitting humankind's spiritual nature. From the spiritual perspective, the purpose of physical life is to enable individuals to develop these qualities in order to prepare for their existence in the life to come as well as to transform their present existence. Although God is omnipotent and could have created humankind already spiritualized, Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, explains that God has allowed individuals to choose to undergo the process (1).
If God had pleased, He had surely made all men one people. His purpose, however, is to enable the pure in spirit and the detached in heart to ascend, by virtue of their own innate powers, unto the shores of the Most Great Ocean (Gleanings, 71).Therefore, a fundamental question for students of religion is how development of these innate powers takes place. Using a data-based study of the acquisition of virtues in two groups of religious believers, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and members of the Bahá'í Faith, we will address one aspect of this question: the extent to which awareness of the behavior of others is an aid to spiritualization. We will present the results of a survey in which we asked respondents to indicate which virtues they wanted to develop in themselves and which virtues they noticed in the behavior and attitudes of the people around them. We will correlate these answers to the respondents' rating of themselves on their possession of eleven virtues which are important for both Mormons and Bahá'ís, determining whether noticing virtues in others facilitates their development in the observer. In addition, cross-sectional data will enable us to examine the durability of levels of spiritualization attained during a highly focused religious activity. In conclusion, we will mention some strategies which can be used to enhance this development of virtues.
Our research is based on a cognitive model proposed at the 1994 Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies, North America (Fotos, 1994a). The model identified two components of the spiritualization process. The first is regular exposure to holy writings, recitation of prayers, meditation and other means of formal study such as listening to sermons and talks and reading commentaries on holy writings. The second is observation of people who manifest spiritual virtues in their conduct. Regarding the role of example, Bahá'u'lláh writes:
Whoso ariseth, in this Day...and summoneth to his assistance the hosts of a praiseworthy character and upright conduct, the influence flowing from such an action will, most certainly, be diffused throughout the whole world (Gleanings, 287).Using this cognitive model, we will investigate how noticing virtues and qualities in others can influence spiritual development. First, however, we will introduce some concepts from cognitive psychology and briefly describe the model.
A Cognitive Model of Spiritualization
Cognitive psychology began in the mid-1950s with the goal of providing
an account of the processes and structures involved in cognition (Eysenck,
1990). The field is based on an information-processing approach, meaning
that information from the environment becomes knowledge through being processed
by a series of systems: attention; perception; short-term memory (also called
working memory); and long-term memory. Several types of knowledge have been
identified. First, there is conscious knowledge about something, for example,
about the rules and forms of a language. This is called explicit or declarative
knowledge. There is also knowledge of how to do something, such as how to
drive a car or speak a language. This is called implicit or procedural
knowledge,
and tends to be unconscious.
Studies have shown that these two knowledge systems are separate
and that
developing one system does not develop the other. For example, if a person
studies a new vocabulary word in a language class, she has only developed
explicit knowledge. She cannot go out and immediately use the word in natural
conversation because her implicit knowledge of the word does not yet exist.
Consequently, an important question in the field of language learning is
how the first type of knowledge is converted to the second. Is it possible
that the two forms of knowledge are related (Sharwood Smith, 1981; Gregg,
1984) or is the non-interface position (Krashen, 1985) more accurate?
Although evidence exists to support both positions, the most recent
research
favors the existence of some type of connection between the two knowledge
systems and it has been suggested that the process of noticing (Ellis, 1990;
1994; Fotos, 1993; Sharwood Smith, 1981; 1991; Schmidt, 1990; 1992; 1993)
is one important interface. The noticing-based model of language acquisition
presents a possible pathway for the conversion of formal knowledge of language
points into communicative language use. This model was derived from
psycholinguistic
theory and has been empirically tested in research on second language
acquisition
(Fotos, 1991; 1993; 1994b; Fotos & Ellis, 1991). The following section
describes how this model operates.
Operation of the Noticing Model
Formal instruction, such as a language lesson, only develops
explicit knowledge
of rules and grammar. However, after the learner has explicit knowledge
about a language point, her consciousness of the new point has been raised.
Very often she continues to be aware of the new point after the lesson.
This type of awareness resulting from formal instruction has been called
"consciousness-raising" in psycholinguistic theory (Ellis, 1990;
1994; Fotos, 1993; Schmidt, 1990; 1992; 1993; Sharwood Smith, 1981; 1991)
(2), and many linguists see consciousness raising (3) as critical to the
language acquisition process because it leads to noticing. Once a learner
is conscious of a language point, if she then has opportunities to hear
it in communicative language used around her, she tends to notice it. Here,
noticing is related to the traditional psychological concepts of attention
and awareness (4). It is a consciousness process in which the learner is
aware of an experience and can recall what has happened.
Noticing is important because it appears to be a trigger initiating the restructuring of the learner's implicit knowledge system (Schmidt, 1990; 1992; 1993). When a learner notices a language point frequently, she unconsciously compares it with her existing system of linguistic knowledge, constructing new hypotheses to accommodate the differences between the noticed information and her current system. Then she tests these new hypothesesp;again unconsciouslyp;by attending to language input and also by getting feedback on her own output using the new form. In this way, implicit knowledge has been created. Yet everything has been done unconsciously, over time, within the long-term memory system. It is very important to recognize that, because of the nature of the restructuring process, the learner begins to produce the new form only after a delay.
It should be noted that this process is dependent upon interaction with others. Many cognitive approaches now incorporate the work of educational psychologists who emphasize the interactive nature of the construction of meaning and the development of cognition. For example, the Russian psychologist Vygotsky (5) (1978) investigated language and cognition in children and concluded that learning is a socially constructed, interactive process, not merely an internal cognitive event.
So, to review, adults learn to speak new languages through
meaning-focused
use of the language in communicative situationsp;basically, through
interaction with others. Formal instruction cannot be expected to immediately
enable the learner to use and understand a new language point. What formal
instruction does do is to develop explicit knowledge, which then leads to
consciousness of the language point so that it is noticed in subsequent
communicative input. After it has been noticed a number of times, the new
language point eventually becomes implicit knowledge through unconscious
restructuring of the learner's internal linguistic system. It is only at
this time that the new form is available for use in communicative
situations.
Applying the Noticing Model to Spiritualization
This model will now be applied to the process of spiritual
transformation.
Let us recall that there were five components:
(1) Formal instruction on a language point
(2) Consciousness raising and continued awareness of the new point
(3) Repeated acts of noticing the new point in communicative input
(4) Unconscious processes of restructuring the implicit knowledge system,
processes which are dependent upon interaction with others
(5) The appearance of the new point in the learner's own speech
We suggest that parallel stages exist in the process of spiritual
transformation:
(1) Formal instruction
When an individual reads the holy writings, recites prayers, or listens
to sermons or talks, this constitutes formal instruction on desirable spiritual
attributes and qualities. Yet this is not sufficient. Explicit knowledge
of what constitutes desirable virtues is probably not enough for
transformation,
just as explicit linguistic knowledge is not enough for the development
of communicative ability in a new language. Some form of consciousness
raising is necessary, followed by opportunities for noticing the attributes
and virtues in the conduct of others.
(2) Consciousness raising and continued awareness
In the case of successful language learners, the development of
consciousness
in response to formal instruction is related to both motivation and the
application of various learning strategies such as attention and effort.
Perhaps the situation is similar here. For those who are motivated to change,
there is no doubt that daily exposure to prayers, meditation, reading the
holy writings and the like can create an increased awareness of desirable
spiritual attributes and one's own need to acquire them. At the end of this
presentation, we will mention some strategies used in language learning
which might also be of assistance in spiritualization.
(3) Noticing
Given the critical role our model ascribes to noticing in the restructuring process, it is clear why many religions stress deeds rather than words. In addition to being of direct benefit to others, good deeds provide examples of spiritual attributes and qualities which then can be noticed. In this way, the good deeds of the spiritually mature can influence those around them to become aware of and even "pick up" spiritual qualities, even if "formal instruction" through reading prayers and holy writings hasn't occurred.
(4) Developing intrinsic knowledge through restructuring
By comparison of noticed spiritual attributes with her own internal system, the individual forms new hypotheses regarding appropriate beliefs, values and conduct. And finally, the individual tests these hypotheses by manifesting the new attributes in her own outlook and behavior. Interaction with others has thus enabled the individual to advance spiritually (6).
However, we must remember that although people may develop explicit
knowledge
quickly, achievement of implicit knowledge is gradual and under internal
processing constraints. It takes time for people to transform themselves
and patience is required while the necessary processing occurs.
The Study
We undertook our study to investigate the operation of this model. We administered a short survey to two group of religious believers, 176 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) and 49 Bahá'ís. The Mormon group was subdivided into 90 Mormons who were currently serving as missionaries in Japan and 86 Mormons who had returned from their mission. The survey is given at the end of this report.
We asked the respondents how long they had been a member of their
religion,
what virtues they wanted to develop in themselves and what virtues they
noticed in others. We also asked them to rate themselves on the possession
of eleven virtues. The eleven scores in this section were added to produce
a total virtue score for each respondent.
Research Questions
These areas were our research focus:
(1) Differences in Total Virtue Scores between Groups and Time Effects
on Total Virtue Scores
Were there significant differences between the total virtue scores of the
Mormons and the Bahá'ís? If so, were the differences related
to time or to participation in a highly focused spiritual event, as represented
by the LDS mission? In addition, what did the LDS cross-sectional data suggest
about the maintenance of spiritualization levels subsequent to the mission?
(2) Testing the Noticing Model
Did the respondents notice virtues in others which they wanted to develop
in themselves. If the noticed virtues were also listed in the eleven virtue
section, what was the average score? Was it high, indicating that the
respondents
felt they had made progress acquiring the virtues? Or was it low, indicating
that the respondents realized that they had to make effort to acquire the
virtue? Were there differences between Mormons and Bahá'ís?
(3) Relationships between Desired Virtues and the Total Virtue Score
If the virtues which the respondents wanted to acquire were listed in the
eleven virtue section, what was the average score? Was it high, indicating
that the respondents felt they had made progress acquiring the virtues?
Or was it low, indicating that the respondents realized that they had to
make effort to acquire the virtue? Again, were there differences between
Mormons and Bahá'ís? Did the respondents list virtues to
develop which were not in the eleven virtue section; if so, what were they?
Methods
Subjects
(1) Bahá'í : A convenience sample consisting of members of
the Bahá'í Faith who were on a nine-day Pilgrimage to the
Bahá'í World Center in Haifa, Israel, or were attending a
presentation on spiritualization at the 18th Annual Conference of the
Association
for Bahá'í Studies, North America, were asked to fill out
the survey. All but three surveys were returned and only one survey was
incomplete, giving a total of 49 valid surveys.
(2) Mormon: The 176 Mormons who completed the survey were subjects in a
study of the acquisition and loss of Japanese by Mormon missionaries (Hansen,
1995; 1996; 1998 [in preparation]; Hansen, Gardner & Pollard, 1997;
Hansen & Newbold, 1997; Hansen & Stokes, 1997). There were two groups.
The first consisted of 90 missionaries in Japan between the ages of 19 to
24 and the second consisted of 86 former missionaries who had returned to
Utah from Japan from one to 40 years previously. The subjects were tested
individually. The missionaries were interviewed in a classroom of a church
building during a missionary conference and the returned missionaries (RMs)
in Utah in their home, their office or in an office on a university campus.
The RMs were found through lists acquired from returned missionary
organizations
and were contacted initially by telephone. Others were located by word of
mouth from subjects at data collection times. Of those contacted, 94% agreed
to participate in the study. A small remuneration was offered for their
participation, but was most often declined. The spiritualization survey
reported in this paper and a demographic data sheet were completed by all
of these subjects prior to the administration of five Japanese language
elicitation tasks.
The Mormon Mission
At present, over forty thousand Latter Day Saints missionaries,
most between
the ages of 19 and 23, serve in all areas of the free world. From the time
they are called to the mission field until they are released, the young
people are engaged in missionary activity. Even in those moments when they
are not directly involved in proselytizing efforts, they must at all times
be accompanied by their missionary companion, a circumstance that reminds
them constantly of their missionary role (Britsch, 1975). In this report,
we suggest that participation in the LDS mission therefore constitutes a
highly focused spiritual activity.
The Survey
Three open-ended and eleven Likert-scale items were used. In the
former,
respondents were asked to indicate how long they had been a member of their
religion, which virtues they wanted to develop in themselves, and which
they noticed in others. The Likert-scale items measured the respondent's
self-assessed development of eleven virtues which were important to both
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Bahá'í
Faith. In addition to their "now" ratings on the eleven virtues,
the LDS respondents were asked to rate themselves on their earlier levels
of spirituality. The missionaries in Japan were asked to rate themselves
on the virtues before their missions and the RMs during their missions.
Each item had six possible answers, with "always" scored as six
points and "not" scored as one point, except in the case of item
10, "Covetous," where the scoring was in the opposite direction.
The eleven individual scores were added together to produce a Total Virtue
Score for each respondent. This had a maximum possible value of 66 points
and a minimum of 11 points.
Analysis of the Survey
Although researchers in the social sciences caution that self-reported data is often unreliable because respondents tend to choose the most socially acceptable answers or answer similar items in similar ways, this is an exploratory survey with several open-ended questions, so we do not feel that reliability is a major concern in the present report. Future research must address the reliability question through a survey containing at least 50 items, with positively and negatively worded items within the same item family, correlations between the two item forms reported, and Chronbach alpha reliability figures reported for all item families.
In order to determine the significance of group differences for the
total
virtue scores between the Bahá'ís, the LDS missionaries and
the LDS returned missionaries, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was
run (7). Independent and paired t-tests were used to examine the significance
of differences in total virtue scores between all-Mormon groups and
Bahá'ís,
as well as between LDS ratings for virtues "now" and previously,
and between the LDS missionaries and three RM subgroups defined according
to the elapsed time since their mission: (1) one to five years; (2) six
to 24 years; and (3) 25-40 years. The relationship between the total virtue
score and time was examined by Pearson's product-moment correlations for
each group of subjects. For the Bahá'ís, time was defined
as the number of years the subject had been a member of the
Bahá'í
Faith. However, for the LDS missionaries, time was defined as the number
of months on the mission. For the RMs, time was considered to be the number
of years since the mission. To answer our second and third research questions,
the proportion of noticed virtues which respondents wanted to develop in
themselves was calculated, as were the mean scores for the desired and noticed
virtues also found in the eleven virtue section. The alpha level was set
at .05, p < .05 for all tests of significance.
Results and Discussion
This section presents the results and discussion of each research
question
separately.
Research Question 1. Differences in Total Virtue Scores between Groups
and Time Effects on Total Virtue Scores
Table 1 gives the average present total virtue score for the three
groups
of respondents. A significant difference was found between the responses
of the Mormons, whether they were on their Mission or whether they had returned
from it years before, and the Bahá'ís, with the
Bahá'í
scores significantly lower. However, this result must be interpreted
cautiously,
as it may be due to differences between the two religions in their approach
to self-assessment rather than to actual differences in spiritual development.
Table 2 shows a further breakdown of the Mormon scores with time differences
displayed.
Table 1: Mean Total Virtue Scores for the Different Groups
______________________________________________________
Group/ Number of Subjects/ Mean Total Virtue Score
______________________________________________________
LDS Mormons 90 51.29
Returned Mormons 86 51.44
Bahá'ís 49 45.12*
_____________________________________________________
* A statistically significant difference existed between this score and
the other two scores.
Table 2: Mean Total Virtue Scores for Mormon Groups
______________________________________________________
Group/ Number of Subjects / Time/ Mean Total Virtue Score
______________________________________________________
Current missionaries 90 Before mission* 40.88**
Current missionaries 90 During mission 51.28
Former Missionaries 86
Former Missionaries--During mission* 51.77
Former Missionaries--Returned 1-5 years 51
Former Missionaries--Returned 6-24 years 49.11
Former Missionaries--Returned 25-40 years 52.81
______________________________________________________
* Scores were estimated by respondents.
** A statistically significant difference existed between this score and
the other scores.
The Bahá'í total score of 45.12 was significantly
different from the scores of all of the LDS sub-groups. It was significantly
higher than the estimated premission values, but was significantly lower
than the mission and postmission scores. However, once again, we must interpret
this result cautiously.In comparing the Mormon results, it should be noted that the reported scores before the mission were significantly lower than during or after the mission. This result is interesting because it suggests that the missionary experience was related to the respondents' self-perceptions of the successful development and maintenance of high levels of the eleven virtues.
Regarding the effects of time on perceived acquisition of virtues, the Mormons who were on their mission showed a significant positive correlation between the number of months they had been on their mission and their total virtue scores (r=.76, p < .05). However, for the Mormon group who had returned from their mission, there was no significant correlation between elapsed time and virtue scores (r=.24, NS). This is additional evidence suggesting that the Mormon mission experience significantly enhanced feelings of spiritualization in the participants, who then reported that they felt they were able to maintain their levels of spiritualization regardless of the passage of time.
Correlational analysis relating the Bahá'ís' total virtue
scores to the length of time the respondents had been members of the
Bahá'í
Faith also revealed a significant positive time effect (r= .78, p <
.05). Thus, positive relationships between time and the development of
spiritual
virtues existed for both groups. For the Mormons, however, participation
in a highly focused spiritual event was more critical than the number of
years the respondents had been members of the Mormon Church. In contrast,
the Bahá'í subjects lacked a comparable focused spiritual
event; rather, it was the length of time that they had been members of the
Bahá'í Faith which was related to increasing development
of spiritual virtues. Future investigation of Bahá'í subjects
should focus on participants in a similar focused spiritual event, perhaps
using subjects from a Youth Year of Service program, a teaching project
or Bahá'í pioneers.
Research Question 2: Testing the Noticing Model
Members of both groups indicated that they noticed virtues in others which they wanted to develop in themselves. Of the Mormons, 44% (79 of the 179 respondents) noticed at least one virtue in others which they said they wished develop. The average score on noticed virtues which were also listed in the eleven virtue section was 4.3 out of a possible total of 6 points. This was a medium value, indicating that the respondents felt that they had neither high nor low values of the desired virtue.
Of the Bahá'ís, 49% (24 of the 49 respondents) noticed at least one virtue in others which they said they wished to develop. Of the total of 138 virtues listed in the "want to develop" section, nearly a third (39) were also noticed in the behavior of others. However, only 15 respondents noticed virtues which were listed in the eleven virtue section below. Here the average score was 3.8 points out of a possible total of 6 points. Again, although the Bahá'í score was slightly higher than the Mormon score, this was a medium value, indicating that respondents felt that they had neither high nor low values of the noticed virtue.
In summary, nearly half of the respondents noticed virtues that
they wanted
to develop in themselves. Nearly one third of the desirable virtues were
noticed in the behavior of others. These values, although not high enough
to be conclusive, suggest that noticing plays a part in the acquisition
of virtues.
Research Question 3. Relationships between Desired Virtues and the Total
Virtue Score
The number of virtues the LDS respondents indicated that they wanted to develop averaged about three. For the desired virtues also found in the eleven virtue section, the average score was 4.2 out of a total of 6 possible points. This was a medium value, indicating that the respondents felt that they had neither high nor low values of the virtue. Frequently mentioned virtues respondents wanted to develop in themselves which were not listed in the eleven virtue section included: compassionate, congenial, dependable, empathetic, flexible, gentle, kind, knowledgeable of scriptures, loving, nonjudgemental, sincere, tolerant, and service oriented (willing to serve).
The Bahá'ís listed a total of 146 virtues which they
wanted
to develop, an average of about three virtues per respondent. This was similar
to the average number given by the Mormon respondents. Of these, 53 were
also found in the eleven virtue section. Similar to the average score for
noticed virtues, the average score for desired virtues was 3.3 out of a
total of 6 possible points, nearly one point lower than the Mormon average
score. Again, this was a medium value, indicating that the respondents felt
that they had neither high nor low values of the desired virtue. Frequently
mentioned virtues which the respondents wanted to develop which were not
listed in the eleven virtue section included: loving, kind, compassionate,
warm, peaceful, insightful, courageous, noble, serene, just or fair, steadfast,
radiant, positive, spiritual, pure, sincere, hardworking, hopeful, sensitive
and understanding of others, detached and tolerant.
Summary of Findings
The major findings of this preliminary study can be summarized as
follows:
(1) Increased spiritualization scores were positively related to the length
of time the respondent had been a member of the religion and also to
participation
in the highly focused spiritual event of the Mormon Mission.
(2) Nearly half of the Bahá'ís and 44% of the Mormons reported
that they noticed the existence of desirable virtues in the behavior of
others. Similar results were obtained in a linguistic study of noticing
in learners of English as a foreign language (Fotos, 1993). In this research,
learners were tested to see if they noticed previously instructed grammar
points in communicative input. An average of 53% of the respondents noticed
the target grammar points, whereas members of the control group, who had
not received formal instruction on the grammar points, did not notice the
structures at all. The study also found evidence linking high levels of
noticing to proficiency gains. In light of the results of this linguistic
study, it appears that noticing desired virtues in the behavior of others
may play a significant role in facilitating their development in the
observer.
(3) Differences existed between the two groups of respondents regarding
total virtue scores on the eleven virtue section, as well as average scores
on noticed and desired virtues also listed in the eleven virtue section.
However we do not suggest that this is necessarily related to actual
differences
in spirituality but rather to differences in the nature of self-assessment.
Learner Strategies to Facilitate Spiritualization
In the final section of this paper we will introduce some educational strategies which have been shown to facilitate second/foreign language learning (8). We believe that these strategies can also be beneficial in the spiritualization process. Frequent conscious use of strategies enables language learners to gain a measure of responsibility for their own progress. It has been found that effective language learners are aware of the strategies they use and why they use them (Oxford, 1990). Furthermore, such learners are able to tailor the use of strategies to the demands of the particular task and also to their personal needs. In the same way, through the use of strategies those who seek to become more spiritual can assume a more active role in their spiritualization process, and a forthcoming paper by one of the present authors (Fotos, 1998) examines this topic in more detail.
Three general types of learning strategy are:
(1) Metacognitive Strategies: The term "metacognitive" refers
to thinking about how we think, learn and react. Examples of metacognitive
strategies are evaluating progress, planning future actions, paying attention
to the actions of others and monitoring our own errors. The ideas of
consciousness-raising,
self awareness and noticing fit in here.
(2) Cognitive Strategies: These strategies focus on how we interact with
others, how we manipulate our actions and how we apply specific techniques.
Included in cognitive strategies are reasoning, analyzing, summarizing and
practicing. Also included are compensatory strategies which make up for
lacks. In the case of language learning, such strategies include guessing
meanings from context and using synonyms or gestures to convey meaning (Oxford,
1990). In the spiritualization context, comparable strategies would be
analyzing
behavior, identifying situations in which virtues we want to develop should
be used, and then applying the virtues through deliberate effort. Specific
strategies in this area include mentally rehearsing desired responses that
incorporate the virtues and visualization of success in applying desired
virtues.
(3) Social and Affective Strategies: This area concerns interaction with
others. Affective strategies are those involving control of feelings and
emotions, such as strategies for anxiety reduction, self-encouragement and
self-reward. Social strategies include asking questions, cooperating with
others and becoming aware of the limitations of our own point of view.
Conclusions
This preliminary study suggests that noticing desired virtues in the
behavior of others may be of importance in facilitating spiritual
transformation.
Like other cognitive processes, spiritual transformation takes place over
time; however, it may be possible to enhance spiritualization by intensive
participation in a highly focused religious activity. The Mormon data is
particularly interesting as it indicates that respondents' self perceptions
of spiritual development were permanently heightened by participation in
a focused spiritual event. In addition, the Bahá'í data suggests
that the length of membership in the religion is also important for
respondents'
positive self appraisals. Further research with longer questionnaires to
address reliability concerns as well as qualitative methodology including
case studies and interviews is called for, especially investigations comparing
self-perceptions towards spirituality among different groups-- such as those
who participated in focused activities compared with those who did not,
as well as long-time versus short-time members. It is also suggested that
the application of strategies which heighten self-awareness may enable
individuals
to take more control over their spiritualization process.
Acknowledgments
This paper was presented at the 19th Annual Conference of the
Association for Bahá'í Studies, North America, San Francisco, CA, October
13, 1995. It was awarded the prize for multiple-author research.
Sandra Fotos (Ed. D., TESOL) is Associate Professor of English
at Senshu University, Department of Economics, 2-1-1 Higashi Mita, Tama-ku,
Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa-ken 214, Japan.
Lynne Hanson (Ph.D., Linguistics) is Professor of Linguistics at
Brigham Young University, 55-220 Kulanui Street, Laie, Hawaii 96762, USA.
Notes
1. See Hatcher (1987) for a full discussion of this point.
2. For a thorough treatment of the role of consciousness in second language
learning, see the 1994 issue of the AILA Review, the annual publication
of the Association Internationale de Linguistique Appliquée.
3. In 1991 Sharwood Smith replaced the term "consciousness raising"
with "input enhancement.
4. See Tomlin & Villa (1994) for their discussion of these concepts.
5. The work of Lev Semenovich Vygotsky (1896-1934), available to the West
only recently, has had a considerable impact on the field of education,
particularly in the areas of cognition and language development. For
presentations
of his thought, see Wertsch (1985) or Kozulin (1986).
6. An additional pathway between explicit grammar knowledge and the development
of implicit linguistic knowledge has been demonstrated by researchers such
as DeKeyser (1994) and Hulstijn (1990): automatization of learned forms
through practice. Application of automatization to the spiritualization
context suggests that if individuals behave as though they possess a particular
virtue and this behavior becomes automatized, then it is functionally as
though the virtue has been acquired.
7. ANOVA tables and t-values are not reported in this presentation
version.
8. There is a large body of literature on effective use of learner strategies
in the field of second/foreign language learning. For reviews, see Oxford
(1990), Bialystok (1990) and Smith (1987).
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Appendix: The Spiritualization Survey (Bahá'í Version)
1. How long have you been a Bahá'í? ______________
2. What are the spiritual qualities and virtues which you would most like
to develop in yourself?
3. What are the spiritual virtues and qualities that you tend to notice
most in the behavior and attitudes of people around you?
Read the following list of qualities and virtues. Circle the number which
shows your feeling about the quality now.
1. Patient I feel that I am ______________ patient.
1. not 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often 5. usually
6. always
2. Humble I feel that I am ______________ humble.
1. not 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often 5. usually
6. always
3. Honest I feel that I am ______________ honest.
1. not 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often 5. usually
6. always
4. Prayerful I feel that I am ______________ prayerful.
1. not 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often 5. usually
6. always
5. Unselfish I feel that I am ______________ unselfish.
1. not 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often 5. usually
6. always
6. Forgiving I feel that I am ______________ forgiving.
1. not 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often 5. usually
6. always
7. Studious I feel that I am ______________ studious.
1. not 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often 5. usually
6. always
8. Obedient I feel that I am ______________ obedient.
1. not 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often 5. usually
6. always
9 Charitable I feel that I am ______________ charitable.
1. not 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often 5. usually
6. always
10. Covetous I feel that I am ______________ covetous.
1. not 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often 5. usually
6. always
11. Industrious I feel that I am ______________ industrious.
1. not 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often
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