GENDER ASPECTS OF SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS AND THEIR CORRELATIONS WITH THE LIFE MEANING ORIENTATIONS OF PERSONALITY
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6127-2022-4-161-171
In spite of growing research interest in the scientific problem of superstitiousness nowadays there are still a wide range of contradictions and challenges in this sphere of research: the nature and essence of the concept of superstitiousness, its role in everyday living and its position in the structure of personality. Being a very archaic phenomenon superstitiousness is still relevant in the modern society. This article addresses gender context of superstitiousness and its intercorrelation with individual value orientations that give the meaning of live. The study was carried out in May – July 2021 in Kazan (Russia). The study was conducted on a sample of 40 people (20 men and 20 women) aged 18 to 45 years and showed no significant gender differences in the manifestation of superstitiousness and life-meaning values, although female sample displayed higher superstitiousness indexes. Some interesting differences were found in the structure of correlations between superstition beliefs and lifemeaning orientations. The male sample had negative correlation links between pra-logical perception and locus of control. Also, magical forecast, pra-logical defense and integral superstitiousness index was negatively correlated with general awareness. In the female sample group magical anxiety, magical forecast, unconventional heeling, pra-logical defense and integral superstitiousness index had negative correlations with the locus of control.
Keywords: gender, gender differences, superstitiousness, superstitious beliefs, life meaning, orientation
References:
1. Kruzhkova O. V., Radchenko S. A., Turygina Ya. S. Suyeverno-ritual’naya deyatel’nost’ studentov kak forma psikhologicheskoy zashchity [Superstitions and rituals of students as a form of psychological defense]. Psikhologiya segodnya – Psychology today. RGPPU, 2006, no. 8, pp. 63–66 (in Russian).
2. Vyse S. A. Believing in magic: the psychology of superstition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. 328 p.
3. Boyer P. Minds make societies: how cognition explains the world humans create. Yale University Press, 2020. 376 p.
4. Boden M. Supernatural beliefs: considered adaptive and associated with psychological benefits. Personality and Individual Differences, 2015, vol. 86, pp. 227–231. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.06.023
5. Irwin H. J. Belief in the paranormal: A review of the empirical literature. The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1993, vol. 87, pp. 1–38.
6. Rudski J. M. The illusion of control, superstitious belief, and optimism. Current Psychology, 2004, vol. 22, pp. 306–315. DOI: 10.1007/s12144-004-1036-8
7. Izmodenova N. N. Suyeveriya kak sposob zhiznedeyatel’nosti obrazovannykh grupp naseleniya [Superstitions as a way of living of educated groups of population]. Trudy Kol’skogo nauchnogo tsentra RAN, 2013, no. 6 (19), pp. 20–35 (in Russian).
8. Sayenko Yu. V. Psikhologicheskiye aspekty izucheniya suyeveriy [Psychological aspects of studies of superstitions]. Voprosy psikhologii – Voprosy Psychologii, 2016, no. 6, pp. 85–97 (in Russian)
9. Stoyanova I. Ya. Pralogicheskiye obrazovaniya v norme i patologii. Dis. dokt. psikhol. nauk [Pra-logical formations in the norm and pathology. Dis. doc. psychol. sci.]. Tomsk, 2007. 303 p. (in Russian).
10. Chapman L. J., Chapman J. P. The search for symptoms predictive of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, vol. 13 (3), 497 p.
11. Einstein D. A., Menzies R. G. The presence of magical thinking in obsessive compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, vol. 42 (5), pp. 539–549. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00160-8
12. Gleeson S., Lattal K. A., Williams K. S. Superstitious conditioning: A replication and extension of Neuringer. Psychological Record, 1970, vol. 39, pp. 563–571.
13. Sarason I. G. Stress, anxiety, and cognitive interference: Reaction to tests. Journal of psychology and Social Psychology, 1984, vol. 46, pp. 929–938.
14. Treasure D. C., Monson J., Lox C. L. Relationship between self-efficacy, wrestling performance, and effort prior to competition. The Sport Psychologist, 1966, vol. 10, pp. 73–83.
15. Whitson J. A., Galinsky A. D. Lacking control increases illusory pattern perception. Science, 2008, vol. 322, pp. 115–117.
16. Womack M. Why athletes need ritual: A study of magic among professional athletes. Sport and religion. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1992. Р. 191–202.
17. Marques N. S., Benvenuti M. F. L. The study of superstition in behavioral sciences: discussing experimental arrangements and theoretical assumptions. Trends in Psychology, 2017, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 1397–1409. DOI: 10.9788/TP2017
18. Abitov I. R., Akbirova R. R. Razrabotka oprosnika suyevernosti [Development of Superstitiousness Inventiry]. Psikhologicheskiye issledovaniya – Psychological Studies, 2021, part 14, no. 75 (in Russian).
19. Andryushkova N. P., Yanovskiy M. I. Psikhologicheskiye aspekty obrashcheniya k suyeveriyam [Psychological aspects of superstitions]. Donetskiye chteniya: Russkiy mir kak tsivilizatsionnaya osnova nauchno-obrazovatel’nogo i kul’turnogo razvitiya Donbassa [Donetsk readings: Russian world as a civilizational basis for the scientific, educational and cultural development of Donbass]. 2017. Pp. 5–7 (in Russian).
20. Bendas T. V. Gendernaya psikhologiya: uchebnoye posobiye [Gender psychology: tutorial]. Saint Petersburg, Piter Publ., 2006. 431 p. (in Russian).
21. Ardashev R. G. Irratsional’nost’ obshchestvennogo soznaniya [Irrationality of social consciousness]. Gumanitarnyy vektor – Humanitarian vector, 2020, part 15, no. 2 (in Russian).
22. Popov V. S. Sueveriya v sovremennoy sotsial’noy srede (na primere Interneta) [Superstitious beliefs in the contemporary social environment (internet case)]. Analitika kul’turologii, 2011, no. 20 (in Russian).
23. Tazhurizina Z. A. Mistifikatsiya obydennykh otnosheniy v suyeveriyakh [Mystification of routine relationships in superstitions]. Evraziya: dukhovnyye traditsii narodov, 2012, no. 2, pp. 193–202 (in Russian)
24. Ul’yanchenko A. L. Izucheniye problematiki suyeveriy u studenchestva i molodezhi v rabotakh russkikh i zarubezhnykh issledovateley v XX–XXI vv. [Superstitions studies of students and youth in the works of Russian and international researchers in the XX-XXI centuries]. Russian Journal of Education and Psychology, 2013, no. 1 (21) (in Russian).
25. Mdivani M. O., Devishvili V. M., Kolosova S. A. Psikhologicheskiye osobennosti suyevernogo povedeniya u sportsmenov [Psychological peculiarities in superstitious behavior of sportspeople]. Vestnik Samarskoy gumanitarnoy akademii. Seriya: Psikhologiya – Samara Humanitarian Academy Bulletin. Series: Psychology, 2020, no. 1, pp. 17–26 (in Russian).
26. Gerasimova O. V., Gur’yanova Yu. Yu. Suyeveriye v sovremennom obshchestve [Superstition in the contemporary society]. Nauka i obrazovaniye: materialy XIII Vserossiyskoy konferentsii studentov, aspirantov i molodykh uchenykh. Tomsk, 2009, part 20, pp. 24 (in Russian).
( 452.83 kB ) 
( 442.07 kB )
Issue: 4, 2022
Series of issue: Issue 4
Rubric: PSYCHOLOGY
Pages: 161 — 171
Downloads: 541