Malinowski goes to college: factors influencing students' use of ritual and superstition

The Journal of General Psychology
Jeffrey M Rudski, Ashleigh Edwards

Abstract

Anthropologists have long noted that the use of ritual and magic is linked to conditions of risk and uncertainty. In this study, the authors examined how perceived task difficulty, participants' level of preparation, and the value of the outcome interact to influence the self-reporting of superstition and ritual. College students rated the likelihood of their using charms or rituals for various scenarios involving academic, artistic, and athletic performances. Reports of use of ritual increased as the stakes of the event increased and decreased with perceived expertise or level of preparation. Additional findings included participants' reporting frequent use of ritual while denying any causal effectiveness. The authors discuss results in terms of the rituals providing participants with an illusion of control.

References

Dec 1, 1992·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·N FriedlandY Regev
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Dec 16, 2003·The Journal of General Psychology·Jeffrey Rudski

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Citations

Aug 15, 2013·Cognitive Science·Cristine H Legare, André L Souza
Sep 30, 2016·International Review of Psychiatry·Mark A StillmanIra D Glick
Feb 27, 2016·British Journal of Psychology·Olga Stavrova, Andrea Meckel
Jan 27, 2015·Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin·Eric J Hamerman, Carey K Morewedge
Nov 13, 2018·Frontiers in Psychology·Philip S ChoHarvey Whitehouse
Jul 1, 2020·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·M LangD Xygalatas
Jul 5, 2016·Scandinavian Journal of Psychology·Zsuzsanna DömötörAttila Szabo
May 11, 2018·Australasian Psychiatry : Bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists·Rahul KhannaAnna Ryan
Nov 1, 2020·The Journal of Pain : Official Journal of the American Pain Society·Victoria Wai-Lan Yeung, Andrew L Geers

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