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researching superstition

SO I have decided to specialize in superstition. Well I am writing a few final papers in measuring it and I noticed that the most popular way is by a simple scale. To me that is retarded, mostly because it shows that someone who ranks an item one higher than another person is therefore more superstitous.

so I thought I would share some of the typical scales.


Paranormal Belief Scale (PBA) reprinted without permission

you are suppose to rate these on a 7 point scale (e.g 1 = strongly disagree with statement all the way to 7 = strongly agree with statement)

1. The soul continues to exist thought the body may die.

2. Some individuals are able to levitate and travel (lift) objects through mental forces.

3. Black magic really exists.

4. Black cats can bring you bad luck.

5. Your mind or soul can leave your body and travel (astral projection).

6. The abominable snowman of Tibet exists.

7. Astrology is a way to accurately predict the future.

8. There is a devil.

9. Psychokinesis, the movement of objects through psychic powers, does exist.

10. Witches do exist.

11. If you break a mirror, you will have bad luck.

12. During altered states, such as sleep or trances, the spirit can leave the body.

13. The Loch Ness monster of Scotland exists.

14. The horoscope accurately tells a person's future.

15. I believe in God.

16. A person's thoughts can influence the movement of a physical object.

17. Through the use of formulas and incantations, it is possible to cast spells on persons.

18. The number "13" is unluck.

19. Reincarnation does occur.

20. There is life on other planets.

21. Some psychics can accurately predict the future.

22. There is a heaven and a hell.

23. Mind reading is not possible.

24. There are actual cases of witchcraft.

25. It is possible to communicate with the dead.

26. Some people have an unexplained ability to predict the future.


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to me this scale sucks raw ass. most of the items directly ask you about a belief, which historically in psychology is a no-no. Plus another thing is that I can make a 26 item scale which asks about paranormal beliefs that no one konws about. This is really culture specific.


given that, anyone have an idea of how to measure superstition? Ultimately you can break down a lot of habits as superstitions, but that is getting into my paper and I doubt you would want me to post my 10 page paper. eh.

Well, here are my answers: 21112411211131121127114212

I think they'd all just about get a "1" from me except for:

quote:

10. Witches do exist.

They do. Witches are to Wicca as Christians are to Christianity.

I don't believe that they have the ability to cast spells or fly on broom-sticks obviously, but, technically, they do "exist".

quote:

20. There is life on other planets.

I'm not sure what this has to do with the paranormal. This is a scientific issue, not one of superstition.

A 7 from me.

quote:

23. Mind reading is not possible.

Did they mean to say "not possible"? In either case, in a loose, abstract way, I guess mind-reading is possible. Psychologists, for instance, have to be able to "understand" their patient's mind (same thing as reading?) before they can diagnose and cure the problems.

Anyway:

quote:

given that, anyone have an idea of how to measure superstition? Ultimately you can break down a lot of habits as superstitions, but that is getting into my paper and I doubt you would want me to post my 10 page paper. eh.

It wouldn't be hard to concoct a less "culture specific" set of questions if you wanted to retain the scale system. Instead of:

quote:

15. I believe in God.

It could become something like "I believe in an omnipotent power" or "I believe in a powerful presense beyond what is immediately perceptible". Or, instead of:

quote:

18. The number "13" is unluck.

You could pose more general questions about the existence of luck. The number 13 is meaningless to the Chinese person just as the number 4 (the Chinese number of death, from memory?) is meaningless to most westerners.

Having said all this, though, I'm not sure there's any real point in divising a scale system like this for paranormal beliefs, as it's fairly arbitrary and hardly exact. Perhaps, instead of looking at the beliefs patterns of individuals, you could have a look at the belief patterns of society? That is, how many people believe in God, reincarnation, luck, witchcraft or anything else in a given society?

There was a criticism of this scale published in 1995 in the journal of parapsychology that adviced against using those exact questions. Being a witch is just a label, if you believe that witch flies around and casts spells...thats a different story.

Also it is very possible to have life on other planets, which is not paranormal, however if they frequently fly here and give anal probes....thats another story.

Again, this is a problem with a scale. It is using the exact terms and if you have a different definition of mind reading you will answer differently. A psychologist uses other data to "read the patients mind" in your case. They either use Rorschach ink blots or a ton of questions. What I think of mind reading is me, without any other information, knowing what another is thinking. So right now, you are thinking of microwaving a hot dog.....if you are, I guess I read your mind.

Its funny that I am also reading a study conducted in an Italian population that has to change the Friday 13th question to Friday the 17th, same meaning, different day.

I believe there really is no utility in having this scale, as you have pointed out there are many flaws. So I am making a way to induce superstitious behavior and I will try to relate it to superstitious beliefs. so that way I can rely on performance as opposed to self report questionaires.

As far as finding the superstitions of the population, there is a lot of vartiability in every individual that makes uyp the population. You would have to administer this type of a questinoaire/scale of course with corrections similar to the way you noted to a large sample of the population. Thats also hard since the most readily available population to sample is college students. But what % of the population do college kids represent...not a lot. but thats what is used.

But as it stands right now, DrUg_Tit0 would not be a superstitious person. Unless you marked a 7 for something other than question 23....that one is reverse coded.

quote:

Originally posted by Boomer187 But as it stands right now, DrUg_Tit0 would not be a superstitious person. Unless you marked a 7 for something other than question 23....that one is reverse coded.

7 was for the aliens, 4 was for the reverse coded. And the first 4 was an accident, it should have been a 3.

Re: researching superstition

Paranormal Belief Scale (PBA) reprinted without permission

you are suppose to rate these on a 7 point scale (e.g 1 = strongly disagree with statement all the way to 7 = strongly agree with statement)

1. The soul continues to exist though the body may die.1


2. Some individuals are able to levitate and travel (lift) objects through mental forces.2

3. Black magic really exists.4

4. Black cats can bring you bad luck. 1

5. Your mind or soul can leave your body and travel (astral projection).2

6. The abominable snowman of Tibet exists.1

7. Astrology is a way to accurately predict the future.1

8. There is a devil. 1

9. Psychokinesis, the movement of objects through psychic powers, does exist.1

10. Witches do exist.7

11. If you break a mirror, you will have bad luck. 1

12. During altered states, such as sleep or trances, the spirit can leave the body.2

13. The Loch Ness monster of Scotland exists.1

14. The horoscope accurately tells a person's future.1

15. I believe in God.1

16. A person's thoughts can influence the movement of a physical object.1

17. Through the use of formulas and incantations, it is possible to cast spells on persons.2

18. The number "13" is unluck. 1

19. Reincarnation does occur.1

20. There is life on other planets.4

21. Some psychics can accurately predict the future. 3

22. There is a heaven and a hell. 1

23. Mind reading is not possible.1

24. There are actual cases of witchcraft. (answer unknown)

25. It is possible to communicate with the dead. 1

26. Some people have an unexplained ability to predict the future.3

Re: researching superstition

quote:

Originally posted by Boomer187 1. The soul continues to exist thought the body may die. 3 2. Some individuals are able to levitate and travel (lift) objects through mental forces. 2 3. Black magic really exists. 2 4. Black cats can bring you bad luck. 1 5. Your mind or soul can leave your body and travel (astral projection). 3 6. The abominable snowman of Tibet exists. 1 7. Astrology is a way to accurately predict the future. 1 8. There is a devil. 3 9. Psychokinesis, the movement of objects through psychic powers, does exist. 2 10. Witches do exist. 2 11. If you break a mirror, you will have bad luck. 1 12. During altered states, such as sleep or trances, the spirit can leave the body. 3 13. The Loch Ness monster of Scotland exists. 1 14. The horoscope accurately tells a person's future. 1 15. I believe in God. 4 16. A person's thoughts can influence the movement of a physical object. 1 17. Through the use of formulas and incantations, it is possible to cast spells on persons. 1 18. The number "13" is unluck. 1 19. Reincarnation does occur. 1 20. There is life on other planets. 6 21. Some psychics can accurately predict the future. 2 22. There is a heaven and a hell. 2 23. Mind reading is not possible. (you mean, mind reading is possible ??!! - for that i'll give a 2) 24. There are actual cases of witchcraft. 2 25. It is possible to communicate with the dead. 2 26. Some people have an unexplained ability to predict the future. 2 =====================================================================

being 1 only for the things i'm sure they're bullshit. 2 for highly unprobable things. 7 for the things i'm absolutely sure of.

i thought astral projection was a fact?

quote:

Originally posted by mndeg i thought astral projection was a fact?

Most evidence for it comes from anecdotal stories. It is relaly hard to prove because it cannot be controlled. It just happens, mostly when people have a near death experience.

So it is hard to gather scientific evidence to support it. Therefore, it is a paranormal belief.

Re: researching superstition

quote:

Originally posted by Boomer187 20. There is life on other planets.

Believing this doesn't have anything to do superstitions. The universe is massive, so if the possibility exists for life to spring up on one planet (Earth), the chances are there are thousands of other planets with life on also.

I personally can't believe that there isn't life on other planets, it'd be too wierd just having life on one.

Re: researching superstition

My answers:

7411313141131113117411111

ps.:

22. There is a heaven and a hell. (it really depends on your concept of heaven and hell: I won't be anal about it though, and I shall vote for 1)

26. Some people have an unexplained ability to predict the future. (It depends: sometimes it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what happens next )

------------------

I agree with you when you say that most of the items ask about a belief rather than anything else. In my case, due to some Buddhist background, it's obvious that I would vote 7 for #1 and #19, and, as far as I know, there are scientific proofs on #19 (which leads to #1).

Re: Re: researching superstition

quote:

Originally posted by Delay Llama and, as far as I know, there are scientific proofs on #19 (which leads to #1).

DO you happen to know where I can find this. It would be very interesting to read. Most of the scientific articles I can get my hands on about this subject are in the journal of parapsychology, but about 95% of those find no relationship or don't support anything.

quote:

22. There is a heaven and a hell. (it really depends on your concept of heaven and hell: I won't be anal about it though, and I shall vote for 1) 26. Some people have an unexplained ability to predict the future. (It depends: sometimes it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what happens next )

well your concept of it shouldn't matter, although I can really see a problem about different religions and theri concept of it. But I guess due to the setup you have to answer as, do you belief in the concept of heaven and hell.

and predicting the future is hard to define, but I think it is predicting events, not something like, you will take a shower in the future. Miss Cleo type things. Again, this hits on the very bad setup of the scale, so you are very right in questioning the items.

There you go

quote:

Originally posted by Boomer187 DO you happen to know where I can find this. It would be very interesting to read. Most of the scientific articles I can get my hands on about this subject are in the journal of parapsychology, but about 95% of those find no relationship or don't support anything.

Scientific Acceptability of Rebirth

Dr. Dharmawardena points out that the reason why classical science cannot explain rebirth is due to inherent limitations in classical science. Modern science has transcended these limitations, and therefore rebirth is within the scope of modern science. Modern science accepts rebirth as a scientifically acceptable phenomenon through the same tests used to prove scientific acceptability of generally accepted modern science phenomena.

This is the only material in which I found something related to physics (it's a shame it's so brief and still influenced by Buddhism philosophy, which can lead to a biased opinion). But as I recall it, it quotes Einstein and stuff. Anyway, you can look for more info on the names mentioned in this book and study what these researches are doing in the physics field

Re: There you go

quote:

Originally posted by Delay Llama Scientific Acceptability of Rebirth Dr. Dharmawardena points out that the reason why classical science cannot explain rebirth is due to inherent limitations in classical science. Modern science has transcended these limitations, and therefore rebirth is within the scope of modern science. Modern science accepts rebirth as a scientifically acceptable phenomenon through the same tests used to prove scientific acceptability of generally accepted modern science phenomena. This is the only material in which I found something related to physics (it's a shame it's so brief and still influenced by Buddhism philosophy, which can lead to a biased opinion). But as I recall it, it quotes Einstein and stuff. Anyway, you can look for more info on the names mentioned in this book and study what these researches are doing in the physics field

thanks for the link I am reading it now.


I always find this stuff interesting mainly because I have never been exposed to it. So it is all new to me .

Re: Re: researching superstition

quote:

Originally posted by Delay Llama 22. There is a heaven and a hell. (it really depends on your concept of heaven and hell: I won't be anal about it though, and I shall vote for 1)

Oh, and would you please then explain your concept of heaven and hell which undoubtedly shows they exist?

quote:

26. Some people have an unexplained ability to predict the future. (It depends: sometimes it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what happens next )

Heh, if you take it that way, then anyone has that power. Still, the question was about predictions which can't be reached by exclusively using logic and deduction.

quote:

Dr. Dharmawardena points out that the reason why classical science cannot explain rebirth is due to inherent limitations in classical science. Modern science has transcended these limitations, and therefore rebirth is within the scope of modern science. Modern science accepts rebirth as a scientifically acceptable phenomenon through the same tests used to prove scientific acceptability of generally accepted modern science phenomena. This is the only material in which I found something related to physics (it's a shame it's so brief and still influenced by Buddhism philosophy, which can lead to a biased opinion). But as I recall it, it quotes Einstein and stuff. Anyway, you can look for more info on the names mentioned in this book and study what these researches are doing in the physics field

This article is nowhere near proving any of your points. It draws parallels between electrons shifting orbits and humans reincarnating. You know, humans and electrons aren't quite the same thing. They both have some unique features that the other side finds hard to replicate. Comparing those two things is like saying "well, a firecracker can blow up once it's lit, so a bucket of water might as well". It also says Einstein's theories transcended "classical" scientific thought and are closer to budhist teachings. Well, to put it shortly, it's not true. Their effects are quite observable, and he didn't pull them out of his sleeve. While they were certainly a breakthrough, and while it indeed required a genius to think of such things, their introduction was based on some provable and at the time unexplainable phenomena. Reincarnation is not provable. The only "proof" that guy offers is that some kids babble about former lives and can learn things quickly. Come on, you can't take everything a 2 year old says seriously. Neither does fast learning of a few wunderkindern prove that they already had that knowledge before, it just means their brains are more acceptable to learn those specific subjects.

well it seems that the authors proof comes form childrens stories of previous lives that have bee researched to be true. There are cases where a child wrote egyptian writtings, and there is the story of the woman who taught buddism but has never learned it, she was a monk in a previous life.


my question is, population rate is increasing, I am assuming new immaterial parts are being created. Plus I am unsure of the process in which the immaterial part enters a fetus. Is the fetus without an immaterial part for a time, and if it doesn't get an immaterial part when does it form a new one?


I don't expect answers but these are questions I have. I'll keep looking into this since it seems so very pertinent to my interests.

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