{"title":"A Quantitative Examination of Half-Belief in Superstition","authors":"A. Caspi, Eti Shmuel, Eran Chajut","doi":"10.1027/1614-0001/a000401","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: We examined the phenomenon of half-belief in superstitions by asking two samples of participants (total N = 1,014) to report how much they practiced positive and negative superstitions and how much they believed in these superstitions. We further assessed whether demographic and psychological variables accounted for practice and belief. The results suggest that very few people show a complete lack of belief in superstitions and practice none. Some participants are calibrated believers, that is, people who practice and believe to the same extent. All others are either half-believers, who practice more than they believe or passive-believers who practice less than they believe. Age, gender, and religiosity correlated with practicing, believing, and with the discrepancy between them (i.e., with half-belief or with passive-belief). Anxiety and uncertainty are associated with practicing, believing, and the discrepancy between them, with some effects being weaker for positive than for negative superstitions. Some correlations were stronger in stressful situations (i.e., COVID-19) than prior to the pandemic.","PeriodicalId":47049,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Individual Differences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Individual Differences","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001/a000401","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract: We examined the phenomenon of half-belief in superstitions by asking two samples of participants (total N = 1,014) to report how much they practiced positive and negative superstitions and how much they believed in these superstitions. We further assessed whether demographic and psychological variables accounted for practice and belief. The results suggest that very few people show a complete lack of belief in superstitions and practice none. Some participants are calibrated believers, that is, people who practice and believe to the same extent. All others are either half-believers, who practice more than they believe or passive-believers who practice less than they believe. Age, gender, and religiosity correlated with practicing, believing, and with the discrepancy between them (i.e., with half-belief or with passive-belief). Anxiety and uncertainty are associated with practicing, believing, and the discrepancy between them, with some effects being weaker for positive than for negative superstitions. Some correlations were stronger in stressful situations (i.e., COVID-19) than prior to the pandemic.
期刊介绍:
Researchers, teachers, and students interested in all areas of individual differences (e.g., gender, temperament, personality, intelligence) and their assessment in human and animal research will find the Journal of Individual Differences useful. The Journal of Individual Differences publishes manuscripts dealing with individual differences in behavior, emotion, cognition, and their developmental aspects. This includes human as well as animal research. The Journal of Individual Differences is conceptualized to bring together researchers working in different areas ranging from, for example, molecular genetics to theories of complex behavior.