{"id":458,"date":"2018-10-19T03:00:08","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T02:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psychologyandi.com\/?p=458"},"modified":"2018-10-19T21:12:19","modified_gmt":"2018-10-19T20:12:19","slug":"believe-ghosts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psychologyandi.com\/believe-ghosts\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Believe In Ghosts"},"content":{"rendered":"

A poll conducted in 2010 found a good percentage of people believe witches exist, and that houses can as well be haunted.<\/p>\n

For a surprising number of people, scary symbols represent something real.<\/p>\n

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Why You Believe In Ghosts<\/a><\/div>\n

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Though, majority\u00a0do not harbor beliefs in the supernatural, but, many of us engage in superstitious thoughts or behaviors without second thought. When was the last time you knocked on wood, blamed an unlucky occurrence on Mercury slipping into retrograde, or found yourself unwittingly avoiding stepping on cracks in the sidewalk?<\/p>\n

Psychologist Susan Whitbourne<\/strong> says superstitions are some of our “most fascinating, and yet least studied, everyday behaviors.<\/em>“<\/p>\n

Superstition<\/a> is a belief or behavior that has two features: One is that it is aimed at bringing about good luck or avoiding bad, and the second is that it’s not supported by what we know of science and typically makes reference to some sort of magical influence, says Stuart Vyse, professor of psychology at Connecticut College and author of\u00a0Believing In Magic<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It would be labeled magical because it isn’t supported by our common understanding of science.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Vyse<\/strong>, embracing irrational beliefs and superstitious behavior has a lot to do with something that psychologists call the “illusion of control.<\/strong><\/em>“<\/p>\n

People have anxieties about things that they care about, that they want to happen, or things that they’re afraid of and want to avoid, People sometimes feel as though, no matter how hard they try, they can’t guarantee that the outcome they’re looking for will happen. So without that sense of pure control, people are willing to grasp at anything that will make them feel some sense of control.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Followings are more reasons we believe in ghosts:<\/p>\n