《文化对比阅读》(上) Unit 8--Special Numbers 6. The Psychology of Superstition.docVIP

The Psychology of Superstition Is ‘magical’ thinking hurting or helping you? Sarah Albert If you’re like most people, you occasionally participate in superstitious thinking or behavior often without even realizing you’re doing it. Just think: When was the last time you knocked on wood, walked within the lines, avoided a black cat, or read your daily horoscope? These are all examples of superstitions or what Stuart Vyse, PhD, and the author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, calls magical thinking. More than half of Americans admitted to being at least a little superstitious, according to a recent Gallup poll. Additionally, beliefs in witches, ghosts and haunted houses — all popular Halloween symbols — have increased over the past decade. But just what is the psychology behind our magical thinking, and is it hurting or helping us? When does superstitious thinking go too far? Was Stevie Wonder right: When you believe in things that you don’t understand, do you suffer? Does it do any good to memorialize disasters such as 9/11? Do monuments to grief and endless anniversary remembrances re-traumatize us or strengthen our resilience? For good or ill, memorializing is a part of human nature, says Mount Holyoke college professor Karen Remmler, PhD, an expert in the remembrance of tragedies. “It is a very human, universal desire to remember the dead,〞 Remmler tells WebMD. “Very often, the only way to remember is to create some kind of space. Altars, for example, or... Superstition, Ritual, or Anxiety? In our quest to understand superstitions, let’s start by defining them. After all, not all rituals or beliefs are superstitions. “The dividing line is whether you give some kind of magical significance to the ritual,〞 Vyse tells WebMD. For example, if an athlete develops a ritual before a game, something Vyse says many coaches encourage, it may help to calm and focus him or her like repeating a mantra. “That’s not superstitious,〞 says Vyse. On the other hand