Research Catalog

Title

Believing in magic : the psychology of superstition - updated edition / Stuart A. Vyse.

Author

Vyse, Stuart A.

Publication

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, [2014]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xii, 316 pages : illustrations; 21 cm

Summary

• "While we live in a technologically and scientifically advanced age, superstition is as widespread as ever. Not limited to just athletes and actors, superstitious beliefs are common among people of all occupations, educational backgrounds, and income levels. In this fully updated edition of Believing in Magic, renowned superstition expert Stuart Vyse investigates our tendency towards these irrational beliefs. Superstitions, he writes, are the natural result of several psychological processes, including our human sensitivity to coincidence, a penchant for developing rituals to fill time (to battle nerves, impatience, or both), our efforts to cope with uncertainty, the need for control, and more. In a new Introduction, Vyse discusses important developments and the latest research on jinxes, paranormal beliefs, and luck. He also distinguishes superstition from paranormal and religious beliefs and identifies the potential benefits of superstition for believers. He examines the research to demonstrate how we can better understand complex human behavior. Although superstition is a normal part of our culture, Vyse argues that we must provide alternative methods of coping with life's uncertainties by teaching decision analysis, promoting science education, and challenging ourselves to critically evaluate the sources of our beliefs"--
• "In this fully updated edition of Believing in Magic, renowned superstition expert Stuart Vyse investigates our tendency towards these irrational beliefs"--

Subject

• Superstition
• PSYCHOLOGY / General
• Superstition > Psychological aspects

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 389-308) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction -- Believing in magic -- The superstitious person -- Superstition and coincidence -- Superstitious thinking -- Growing up superstitious -- Is superstition abnormal, irrational, or neither? -- A magical view of the world.

ISBN

• 9780199996926 (paperback : acid-free)
• 019999692X (paperback : acid-free)
• 0199996938 (electronic bk.)
• 9780199996933 (electronic bk.)

LCCN

^^2013024078

OCLC

• 849641686
• SCSB-12863562

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library