ANOMALISTIC PSYCHOLOGY Superstitions

EXAMPLES OF SUPERSTITIONS;oBlack cats crossing your path are bad luckoBats are bad look in some of Greece oOpening umbrellas indoors is bad luckoLucky pieces of clothingoWalking under ladders is bad luckoWalking over 3 drains is bad luckoStepping on a crack in a pavement is bad luck

oBreaking a mirror is 7 years bad luckoRubbing the belly of a Buddha is good luckoFinding a penny is good luckoGiving the penny to a friend is good luckoSalt over the left shoulder when you spill it stops bad lucko4 leaf clover is good luck

APPLYING THE BEHAVIOURIST MODEL TO SUPERSTITIONS; Superstitious behaviour is learned from the environment. Skinner found that it was possible to operantly condition pigeons to engage in superstitious rituals by randomly rewarding pigeons whilst they happened to be performing an action.

This suggests that most superstitions may be learned from environmental experience and maintained by negative reinforcement and then passed on through social learning processes.

However, skinner’s research isn’t done on a human who may react differently as their brain is more complex

But social learning is a good example for cultural differences in superstition showing how beliefs can be passed on within a society.

APPLYING THE BIOLOGICAL MODEL TO SUPERSTITIONS; Superstitious behaviour is biologically pre-programmed. Brugger found differences in levels of dopamine in brains of believers in paranormal. He also found that by giving non-believers Ldopa, which increases levels of dopamine, he could increase the ability to see patterns to some level as believers.

This suggests that whether we believe in superstition or not is due to the biological factor.

A positive about this experiment is that it is very scientific as it objectively measures physical data which makes conclusions reliable and valid.

However, it is not possible to prove that there is an evolutionary basis to this as there is no way to gather evidence from our ancestors.

There are also issues with culture specific superstitions which means that the biological model is universal. if we have superstitions from evolution, we would all have similar superstitions and they may not be culturally varied.

APPLYING THE COGNITIVE MODEL TO SUPERSTITIONS; Superstitious behaviour results from cognitive biases. Lustberg found that superstitions amongst sports people are common and linked to motivation and confidence.

This supports the cognitive model because the belief that an object is lucky, changes how you think, feel and then behave, leading to a greater chance of success

Further support comes from Whitson and Galinsky who found that in conditions of low control, p’s engaged in more suspicious behaviour as an attempt to make things better. This shows that superstition is driven by cognitive factors.

However, specific cultural beliefs are better explained by the behaviourist approach.