Lack of conceptual clarity has hampered theory formation and research on superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs. This study offers a conceptual framework where these concepts are differentiated from other unfounded beliefs and defined identically as a confusion of core knowledge about physical, psychological, and biological phenomena. When testing this definition with questionnaire items ( N = 239), the results showed that superstitious individuals accepted more violations of core ontological distinctions than skeptics did and that ontological confusions discriminated believers from skeptics better than intuitive thinking, analytical thinking, or emotional instability. The findings justify the present conceptualization of superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs, and offer new theoretical propositions for the familiar everyday beliefs that are yet scientifically so poorly understood.
%0 Journal Article
%1 citeulike:7597629
%A Lindeman, Marjaana
%A Aarnio, Kia
%D 2007
%J Journal of Research in Personality
%K superstition anomalistics
%N 4
%P 731--744
%R 10.1016/j.jrp.2006.06.009
%T Superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs: An integrative model
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.06.009
%V 41
%X Lack of conceptual clarity has hampered theory formation and research on superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs. This study offers a conceptual framework where these concepts are differentiated from other unfounded beliefs and defined identically as a confusion of core knowledge about physical, psychological, and biological phenomena. When testing this definition with questionnaire items ( N = 239), the results showed that superstitious individuals accepted more violations of core ontological distinctions than skeptics did and that ontological confusions discriminated believers from skeptics better than intuitive thinking, analytical thinking, or emotional instability. The findings justify the present conceptualization of superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs, and offer new theoretical propositions for the familiar everyday beliefs that are yet scientifically so poorly understood.
@article{citeulike:7597629,
abstract = {{Lack of conceptual clarity has hampered theory formation and research on superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs. This study offers a conceptual framework where these concepts are differentiated from other unfounded beliefs and defined identically as a confusion of core knowledge about physical, psychological, and biological phenomena. When testing this definition with questionnaire items ( N = 239), the results showed that superstitious individuals accepted more violations of core ontological distinctions than skeptics did and that ontological confusions discriminated believers from skeptics better than intuitive thinking, analytical thinking, or emotional instability. The findings justify the present conceptualization of superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs, and offer new theoretical propositions for the familiar everyday beliefs that are yet scientifically so poorly understood.}},
added-at = {2010-11-30T22:39:03.000+0100},
author = {Lindeman, Marjaana and Aarnio, Kia},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/274ba239b0345836aed12ce69475a4cce/smatthiesen},
citeulike-article-id = {7597629},
citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.06.009},
citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0092656606000869},
doi = {10.1016/j.jrp.2006.06.009},
interhash = {7732633e656bf79d122b55e07178c1c2},
intrahash = {74ba239b0345836aed12ce69475a4cce},
issn = {00926566},
journal = {Journal of Research in Personality},
keywords = {superstition anomalistics},
month = {August},
number = 4,
pages = {731--744},
posted-at = {2010-08-09 14:47:15},
priority = {5},
timestamp = {2010-12-01T16:20:02.000+0100},
title = {{Superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs: An integrative model}},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.06.009},
volume = 41,
year = 2007
}