Types Of Superstitious Beliefs : Socially Shared Superstitions

5. Radel and colleagues (2011) conducted a study of how feeling overly controlled makes you desire—even unconsciously—more freedom. In their study, 52 Canadian undergraduates played a video game in a laboratory and were randomly assigned to either:

ave you ever wondered if most of the weird little myths/belief your grandma talked about when you were little or even now are true? Or Where do they come from? What's the difference between a belief and a myth? Are widely held views often wrong or are such views more likely to be correct? everyone has their own opinion and in my opinion most widely held beliefs are wrong. there's many evidence on how most widely held beliefs turn out to be wrong and this is why.

In the video titled Learned helplessness (PsychYogi, 2014), Martin Seligman conducted a study in which he took three groups of dogs and put them in harnesses. He gave each group a lever that would either stop a charge that electrocuted the dogs, or do nothing. Group one was the control group and did not get electrocuted. The dogs in groups two and three were the experimental groups. Group two had control over the electric shocks and could stop them with the lever. Group three also received the shocks every time group two did, except group three had no control over their own lever. Every time group two pushed their lever to stop the shocks, group three’s shocks also stopped. Group three never knew when their shocks would stop. The dogs in group two learned that the lever would stop the shocks, so the more times they were shocked, the less time it took them to push the lever. Group three was the only group to have symptoms of depression due to learned helplessness (Psychyogi, 2014).

Superstition is a belief based on past experiences and not facts. In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the Puritans were living in Salem, Massachusetts but are very superstitious. Part of the reason why is because they are avid believers in two different worlds: the natural world and the invisible world. There are also strong believers in the idea that God gives signs, good or bad, to express how he feels about them during certain times. For example, a natural disaster may signify that the Puritans are doing something wrong. The Puritans were superstitious because they are paranoid people.

Singer and Benassi (1981) described a positive correlation between environmental uncertainty in western countries and occult beliefs. Although it could be argued that they may be overreaching with this generalization which is not supported with data, there is truth to this correlation. Humans try to be rational, and logical, and think critically, but in uncertain situations, we look to our environment, the physical and social environment, to provide us with information. Therefore, superstitions and supernatural phenomenon seem possible if no logical explanation can be given, and if the feedback from the environment reinforces what could be occult beliefs. French, Haque, Bunton-Stasyshyn, & Davis (2009) conducted an experiment attempting to investigate whether they could try to create a “haunted” room, and if participants would experience more abnormal sensations. Participants were informed they may feel some abnormal sensations prior to entering the room. Majority of participants reported having three or more abnormal sensations in the 50-minute period they were in the room. These sensations can be a result of susceptibility, but the uncertainty of that environment, and the lack of information may create these sensations and can validate occult

To be able to have control over a situation, first you need to have control over yourself. We can use as an example Stephen King´s novel Cujo written in 1981. In the book, Donna Trenton´s four year-old son dies and the reason for that is because Donna wasn´t able to grasp control of the situation. Her desperation didn´t allow her to think clearly and she never actually stopped and tried to figure out a solid plan, she just did everything as she went along. If Donna had been able to have control over herself and stop her desperation from clouding her mind, she might have been able to

Very little is known about the nature of the human mind. The mental and social life of humans is based on the mind, yet not much is known about it and the extent to which it can go. In all cultures there is a belief about the mind, the heart, and the soul, with a variety of notions about these parts of the human being. Psyche in its ancient sense is extended to limits that go beyond the human body in many of the existing cultures. Surveys that have been done in most countries of the West, Britain, and the U.S have consistently shown that a significant portion of the populations in these regions believe in the occurrence of psychic phenomenon and more than fifty percent believe that they have at one point or another personally experienced it (Sheldrake 102). Considering these beliefs and experiences, it is senseless to claim that the mind is only restricted to the brain. This makes the advocates of mechanistic orthodoxy make an assertion that since paranormal phenomena lacks a scientific explanation, it is non-existent. According to scientific education, this is regarded as superstition but there still calls for need of more study and research into this widespread phenomenon.

Life is full of superstition, whether you like it or not everybody has some sort of superstition in them. Some people don’t let some things go to their head like others do. Some people can get really stubborn if something suspicious happens. I am one of them people, it is really hard to get suspicion out of your head, it is one of them things that once you do it, it is hard to not have those thoughts in your head. And in the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn you will see the cause and effects of the use of suspicion. The main character, Huck Finn, used superstition as a means to keep him going in search of his true self and find interesting ways to live life the only way he knew.

One common superstition that some people believed was that the weather was an expression of God’s feelings (The Religious History of America, page 56). If God was furious there might be a hurricane or an earthquake and if God was happy there might sunshine. A similar superstition suggested that God would express his feeling through people. If people were nice toward someone God was happy with them. If people were rude to one another, God was mad at someone. This superstition is different because instead of God showing feelings at a group of people, God would show his feelings to an individual. (Colonial Religion, page 12). Another popular superstition was that people had to act a certain way in order to receive good luck. For example someone made sure that they would never run into a black cat or else they would have bad luck (The Religious History of America, page 54). Superstitions have diminished in popularity over time but are still present

5. Radel and colleagues (2011) conducted a study of how feeling overly controlled makes you desire—even unconsciously—more freedom. In their study, 52 Canadian undergraduates played a video game in a laboratory and were randomly assigned to either:

There are many different types of control that are experienced throughout any given person’s lifetime. There is being the person in control, being controlled by someone else, and even being controlled by one’s self. Each position has an effect on surrounding people and the mental state of the being. Within the texts, Macbeth, “And of Clay we are Created,” “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and “To Build a Fire,” the influence of control is always there, but appears in different forms.

Some people may say that having control over someone or something can bring satisfaction and a sense of power. In the an article called “Gunman Kills Himself After Hostage Drama (584)” written by Charles P. Wallace and Tim Waters loss of control and the feeling of being helplessness makes Robert B. Rose commit a last act of asserting control over himself. In another article written by Martin E.P. Seligman called “On Learned Helplessness (585)” the feeling of loosing control of oneself is something that can cause someone to do things that they thought they would never do. What is hard to understand is that some of the things the someone may commit may implicate the lives of others in a negative way and the ending result could be death.

I believe that control is merely an illusion that we like to believe we have. In one of Dr. Caulder's sessions with Ethan, the guards are asked to leave and soon Dr. Caulder is held captive by Ethan and is demanded to write down what he has lost. Dr. Caulder answers “control” but Ethan says no and asks a few more times. Finally realizing what Ethan is talking about, Dr. Caulder writes down “illusion.”Ethan then explains how we only have the illusion of having

Illusion of control is the distorted opinion of the individual’s personal control over different types of situations. These individuals believe they have control over the roll of a dice or the flip of a coin. An example of illusion of control is when a gambler thinks they can control the dice being rolled or the next card to be flipped over.

What is superstition? According to The Little Oxford Dictionary, superstition is "belief in the existence or power of the supernatural; irrational fear of the unknown; a religion or practice based on such tendencies; widely held but wrong idea." Let us examine that definition in depth. First, there is "belief in the existence or power of the supernatural". This means that there is believed to be some force that can influence the events on the Earth. Second, there is "irrational fear of the unknown." This has been endemic to the human race since the early days when a cave man did not know if that cave was safe to enter or if he would be attacked by a bear. Third, "a religion or practice based on such tendencies." This is the belief