Three studies examined the potential interactions of the experiential system and positive affect (PA) in predicting superstitious beliefs and sympathetic magic. In Study 1, experientiality and induced positive mood interacted to predict the emergence of belief in videos purporting to show unidentified flying objects or ghosts. In Study 2, naturally occurring PA interacted with experientiality t...

The present study utilized a repeated cross-sectional survey design to examine belief in conspiracy theories about the abduction of Natascha Kampusch. At two time points (October 2009 and October 2011), participants drawn from independent cross-sections of the Austrian population (Time Point 1, N = 281; Time Point 2, N = 277) completed a novel measure of belief in conspiracy theories concerning...

Human factors are implicated in most security (and safety) problems, a ubiquitous aspect being erosion of compliance. We discuss several theories of the role of human factors and present system dynamic models based on the theoretical paradigm of instrumental conditioning (the behavioral regulation theory). The proposed mechanism involves learning – both adequate and inadequate, ‘superstitious’ ...

Prognosis is one of the most ancient branches of medicine. In early times pathology, or the science of disease, did not exist, and treatment was for the most part ineffectual as well as superstitious. But the forecasting of events, when based upon prolonged experience, justly impresses both the educated and the vulgar. We see this in the case of the oldest of sciences?astronomy, based on observ...

OBJECTIVE The present study examined the relation between déjà vu experiences and paranormal beliefs in schizophrenic patients. METHODS A total of 522 participants (54.5% female; mean age=33.3, SD=16.02) were recruited, including 422 healthy adults (60.9% female; mean age=29.48, SD=15.07) and 100 medicated adult schizophrenic patients (27.3% female; mean age=48.98, SD=8.57). The Chinese versi...

The experimental literature is replete with examples of behavior which occur concurrently with a schedule of reinforcement. These concurrent behaviors, often with similar topographies and occurring under like circumstances, may be interpreted as functionally autonomous, collateral, adjunctive, superstitious or mediating behavior. The degree to which the interaction of concurrent and schedule co...

Dr Davies discusses faith healing, its clients and the healing process. He suggests that typical healers often have a total faith in themselves, their working methods and their systems of belief, sometimes born out of their own previous suffering. Patients do well if they have faith (which needs to be distinguished from credulity) in their healers and this faith should be nurtured and valued. S...

We present the validation study of the Paranormal Health Beliefs Scale adult version, aimed to measure illusory beliefs about health. The scale was administered to 643 participants (54.3% females), having an average age of 29.7 years (standard deviation = 18.31). The results of the analyses confirmed the dimensions of the Paranormal Health Beliefs Scale as developed in the previous adolescent s...

In 3 experiments, participants reacted with religious zeal to anxious uncertainty threats that have caused reactive approach motivation (RAM) in past research (see McGregor, Nash, Mann, & Phills, 2010, for implicit, explicit, and neural evidence of RAM). In Study 1, results were specific to religious ideals and did not extend to merely superstitious beliefs. Effects were most pronounced among t...