Some notes that I have put together from class notes and class discussions about Superstitions in anomalistic psychology. A2 Psychology.

1. ANOMALISTIC
PSYCHOLOGY
Superstitions

2. EXAMPLES OF SUPERSTITIONS;
oBlack cats crossing your path are
bad luck
oBats are bad look in some of
Greece
oOpening umbrellas indoors is bad
luck
oLucky pieces of clothing
oWalking under ladders is bad luck
oWalking over 3 drains is bad luck
oStepping on a crack in a
pavement is bad luck
oBreaking a mirror is 7 years bad
luck
oRubbing the belly of a Buddha is
good luck
oFinding a penny is good luck
oGiving the penny to a friend is
good luck
oSalt over the left shoulder when
you spill it stops bad luck
o4 leaf clover is good luck

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.