Horoscopes, black cats, broken mirrors, knocking on wood, finding a four-leaf clover... Superstition surrounds us and guides many of our daily decisions. But why do we succumb to superstition? This article provides a number of explanations for the nature of superstition and those psychological mechanisms that underlie superstitious behavior.

Are you a superstitious person? Most of us are superstitious to some extent, some more than others. We can see manifestations of superstitious behavior everywhere. And as you know, every culture has its own superstitions. For example, in Chinese culture, cutting your nails late at night is a symbol of bad luck, as it can attract ghosts. In addition, each person can also come up with personal and special signs based on his life experience.

Here are some of the superstitions that bring good luck, or good omens: find a four-leaf clover; to wear something old, something new, something foreign and something blue to the wedding (this sign came to our culture from Western traditions); spit and knock on wood; To cross fingers; throw a coin into the fountain; make a wish by blowing out a candle, seeing a shooting star, or when your eyelash falls; horseshoes…

neuropsychological

Among the bad omens everyone hears are: walking under the stairs, giving yellow flowers, seeing a black cat crossing your path, spilling salt, breaking a mirror, opening an umbrella inside the room, Friday the 13th ...

The nature of superstition

Superstition is the belief that one event or ritual (event 1) affects another event (event 2) in some way, in the absence of any real relationship between them.

Some examples of superstitions:

• We can, for example, firmly believe that by wearing a "happy" shirt in the morning (event 1), we will be at our best on a romantic date that evening (event 2).
• Another example of superstition is the ritual of blowing out candles on a birthday cake (event 1), which helps cherished desire birthday (event 2).
• There are people who are sure that the once found four-leaf clover (event 1) will save them from life's troubles (event 2).

Making a wish and blowing out the candles on a cake is an example of superstitious behavior.

How are superstitions born? Skinner's Theory: Operant Conditioning

Superstitions are based on a very important phenomenon, which in psychology is known as operant conditioning, and was first mentioned by a famous American psychologist B.F. Skinner at the beginning of the 20th century.

Skinner conducted an experiment with pigeons that consisted of the following: for a few minutes a day, a mechanism built into the cages gave them food at regular intervals. By observing the behavior of pigeons, it was found that superstitious behavior is characteristic of birds. They believed that by acting in a certain way or by realizing some kind of activity, they could bring food closer.

According to the results of the study, three-quarters of the pigeons became superstitious.

How did it happen? Why did Skinner's pigeons become superstitious? At the moment when the food appeared, the pigeon was performing some kind of activity, to a greater extent random, for example, moving its head from side to side. When he sees food, this behavior is reinforced or rewarded. In this way, a connection is established between the two events (appearance of food and movement of the head), leading the pigeon to believe that it was this movement of the head that caused the appearance of the food. Then the pigeon continues to move its head, in the hope that food will appear again.

The same thing happens in the human body. If, for example, during a successful romantic date, we were wearing a certain "happy" shirt, we begin to believe that it is this shirt that makes us successful. Therefore, we tend to wear the same shirt on all subsequent dates in order to be on top.

In addition, there is also another phenomenon, the so-called confirmation bias. Under the influence of this phenomenon, people tend to seek confirmation of their beliefs, paying attention only to the facts in support of them, and ignoring all arguments against. Thus, we seem to forget about those cases when a meeting with a black cat did not bring us anything bad, and we only remember those moments when a black cat became a “harbinger” of failure. So, superstitions continue to be a part of our lives.

Why are we superstitious?

According to a study conducted at the University of Kansas, there are three reasons why people are superstitious:

• Because they want to control (or think they control) situations with a high degree uncertainty.
• To reduce feelings of helplessness and powerlessness.
• Because sometimes it’s easier to believe in signs than to learn how to withstand difficulties.

Superstitious people, what are they?

According to these researchers, it is more likely that people who believe in fate and believe that it is fate that controls their lives are inherently superstitious.

Superstition is more common in people with external locus of control. That is, those who is accustomed to look for the causes of what is happening outside of himself, often blaming other people or situations... While people with internal locus control those who assume that they are responsible for everything that happens to them are usually less superstitious.

Women tend to be more superstitious than men. This may be due to the cultural background of the woman who has traditionally been the guardian hearth, spent most of her time at home and depended on a man. The historically determined lack of the ability to make decisions and take the initiative in their own hands makes women feel a lack of control over their own lives.

Problems of superstitious behavior

In most cases, superstitions are harmless, and in themselves do not cause any harm. What’s more, they often help us bring our anxiety levels under control. However, when they go beyond adequate limits, it can be dangerous.

• Superstition can shape us addiction to some object or amulet, and if we suddenly lose or forget it, this can lead to an increase in the level of anxiety.
• If we usually have this important object with us in important situations, such as an interview or an exam, then the fact of its absence can negatively affect our work, because without it we feel insecure, helpless.
• Superstition can lead us to believe that pseudo-science and pseudo-medicine are effective, when in fact there is no evidence for this. This applies to homeopathy, "Bach flowers", feng shui, astrology ... It becomes a problem at the moment when some people replace the traditional medical treatment, whose effectiveness is scientifically proven, on these dubious treatments. Most of them are useless and endanger their health.

This is what happened to Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, who hoped to cure cancer with pseudoscientific therapy. By the time he changed his mind and decided to trust conventional medicine, it was already too late.

How to avoid superstitious behavior?

According to American researcher Donald Saukir, there are methods that help us to give up superstitious behavior.

1- Take control of your life

To avoid superstitious behavior, we need to stop believing in bad luck and take control of what we do. You should accept your responsibility for what is happening. Sometimes we use failure to escape guilt, but instead, we should focus primarily on what we can do to avoid difficult and problem situations in future.

2- Be determined and active

People who are less active should great work make decisions, and, as a rule, they are easily superstitious. Proactive people tend to be in control of their lives, make decisions, and take initiative. Therefore, they are less superstitious. You yourself attract good luck into your life by your own actions, and not by rituals and amulets!

3- Avoid situations where you depend on bad luck

Failure won't happen if only good things happen. If something bad happens and you consider it a failure, turn it into a coping mechanism after the event has happened, not before it starts. As the saying goes, solve problems as they come.

4- Control your anxiety level in a different way

Get rid of superstitious behavior and its accompanying rituals. If the fact that you don't have a "happy" shirt or pen on an exam makes you very nervous, try using relaxation techniques to control your anxiety levels. You can also use other practical advice to pass the exam and be on top.

Translation by Alexandra Dyuzheva

Each religion includes a set of special actions necessary for believers both to express their belonging to a religious community and to strengthen their faith, their identification with this community. The totality of these actions is usually religious cult.

A religious cult for believers is practically almost any symbolic action based on the belief in the possibility of influencing supernatural objects and their properties with their help. Cult Actions primitive people were extremely specific. The shaman, turning to the gods and involving fellow tribesmen in ritual actions, asked to send rain or good luck in hunting. AT modern religions specific requests are not required. The cult is necessary for believers to prove their faith, which they demonstrate to God with the help of a special system of actions that usually take place in a temple (religious building) under the guidance of clergymen. Participation in such activities partially satisfies the basic needs of social life: the need for communication, for belonging to a community.

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in social status. They also perform specific psychological functions, for example, removing emotional stress believers. A socio-psychological analysis of group worship in a church allows us to distinguish three successive stages in it, during which there is an increase in emotional tension, then a culmination, and finally a discharge in the form of an increase in calm positive emotions. This manifests a kind of psychotherapeutic effect of the cult.

“In the process of performing religious cult actions, there is a reinforcement and strengthening of religious sentiments in the minds of believers according to the same laws by which the moods of the crowd are formed and strengthened. At the same time, we can observe the action of psychological mechanisms inherent in spontaneous behavior. This is a mechanism of suggestion, imitation and infection” (Evgenyeva, 1988). In a religious cult, various tools of active influence on the psyche of people are used. emotional side actually cult actions are reinforced by a system of religious symbols, often expressed through artistic images. The cult almost certainly contains music, chants, long rhythmic repetition of monotonous words and movements that cause certain emotions.

Let us give just one, albeit quite convincing, example. In 1953, a special patriarchal message was sent to all the rectors of Moscow cathedrals, in which they were strongly recommended to create a “special mood” for all those who pray, to take into account absolutely everything during divine services, up to illumination and hymns, so that nothing extraneous, earthly, would distract the worshipers from high aspiration to God. This message said, in particular, that bright lighting in the cathedral does not encourage prayer, depriving the veil of mystery and expectation, and it was recommended to have a weak light in the temple, since the flickering of lamps and wax candles most suits the mood of those praying. “The darker it is in the temple,” the message said, “the brighter the inner divine light will burn in the hearts of those who pray, the more effective the prayer will be and the more accessible the confession” 1 .

The phenomenon of mutual emotional infection, usually observed during religious holidays involving a large number believers, always creates a general emotional state conducive to effective action mechanisms of suggestion and self-hypnosis. Typical examples of this effect are mass visions and other religious "miracles". Thus, the impressions from the vision of the Holy Virgin Mary, who appeared in 1858 to girls in Lourdes (France), and in 1917 to a whole group of believers in Fatima (Portugal), quickly spread to the crowds. local residents and then on numerous pilgrims. In 1979, during the revolution in Iran, many thousands of people in Tehran saw a portrait of Ayatollah Khomeini on the moon on a full moon. There are many examples of this kind. On the whole, it has been quite rightly noted: "... a religious cult became the first organized form of manipulating the consciousness of the masses in the history of society" (Evgenyeva, 1988).

Among the religious actions based on the psychological phenomenon of faith, three are usually distinguished: prayer, sacrifice, confession. Psychologically to

"See: Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy, 1956, No. 6. S. 46.

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they are usually quite close to some similar actions based on the so-called false faith - superstition, prejudice and premonitions.

At the origins psychology of prayer lie a magical conspiracy and spells. These are words that allegedly have a miraculous power and property to act not only on other people, animals and the forces of nature, but also on spirits and gods. These are the same ones, now almost everyday: “Get lost! Scatter! Get lost! Disappear! Get out!”

Having learned the suggestive power of the word and verbal interpersonal communication on oneself, once a person believed that in a similar way one could protect oneself from attacking people, animals and evil spirits. Over time, the spell became both grateful and pleading - in gratitude there is always an element of a hidden request, as it were, "next time." So, gradually, the spell turned into a prayer, which often contains a request for a miracle. Group prayer is usually considered the most effective, but individual prayer is also practiced.

Abbess Euphrasia, abbess of the monastery in Dyalu Targovishte (Romanian Orthodox Church) wrote: “People today are secularized and run away from prayer, because they are afraid to look into their own life which is often chaotic, meaningless and indefinite in God. Prayer restores the human spirit, informing him of the state of being in brotherhood and love with other people. It makes a person a person. A man prays, turning his face to God, as a sunflower turns to the sun, the Source of life and unity” 1 .

The skeptical Russian writer I. M. Turgenev said that any prayer, in essence, always boils down to only one thing: “Make, Lord, so that twice two is not four, but five!”. On the other hand, sometimes it doesn't. Doctors of one of the US medical centers conducted an interesting experiment in the late 90s of the XX century. Seventy-five elderly Christian women prayed for the recovery of sick people unknown to them. It turned out that in the group of “repaired” patients, complications after operations were as much as 10% less than in the other, “control” group 2 . Then begins the problem of the choice that each person will make, of course, taking into account his own belief in the correctness of a particular position.

Sacrifice - one of the oldest religious cults. In this act, in a fantastic form, the traditional norm of ordinary human relationships of mutual assistance or sale and purchase was reflected: "You give me - I give you." The ancient Greek atheist philosopher Lucian said: “The gods do nothing for free, but sell people various benefits...” for old sins or new blessings.

Psychology of confession associated with the psychology of prayer and sacrifice. Repenting of sins, the believer does not just “ask for forgiveness” - he believes that if you ask well, then forgiveness will actually be received. The unpleasant act of "consciousness in the

1 Euphrasia. Life in all its fullness: the monastic experience. // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy, 1984.
No. 2. S. 68.

2 See: She, 2000, No. 1, p. 36.

3 Cit. by: Platonov K. K. Psychology of religion. // Social Psychology. Moscow: Politizdat, 197:
S. 307.

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yannom” (especially with a developed sense of “pride”) is experienced as a kind of sacrifice that will be rewarded. There is another side of confession, which reflects the well-known worldly wisdom: shared joy is double joy, shared grief is half grief. In the process of confession, the believer, as it were, shifts the burden of the deed on the shoulders of the confessor, shares with him both the deed and the responsibility for it. This enhances the effect of catharsis, which is characteristic not only of prayer, but also of any heart-to-heart conversation with a friend about one's problems and troubles. This is the key to the success of not only confessors, but also psychoanalysts and psychotherapists of various schools.

The psychology of superstition

According to K. K. Platonov, superstition are vestigial fragments of past religions. These are, as it were, cemeteries of former gods and cults associated with them in class psychology. Sometimes, however, these are also acquired, new beliefs, close in psychological origin to neurosis. obsessive states. Because of this, it is almost impossible to fight them - they constitute the "everyday lining" of our consciousness.

Typical example superstition is an idea of ​​​​the connection that allegedly exists between an object that acts as an amulet and good luck in business. And also, on the contrary, between a bad omen and subsequent failures and even human misfortunes. Any common and common occurrence in life can serve as a sign. So, in European countries it is customary to consider a meeting with a black cat as a harbinger of misfortune. In the United States and Latin America, it is believed that anyone who passes under a stepladder will get into big trouble. For verification, in 1939, during the World Exhibition in New York, a kind of psychological experiment was carried out. A large ladder was placed in the lobby. It did not interfere with the passage in any way, but 70% of the several million visitors to the exhibition chose to take a special detour to bypass it.

The psychological explanation for most of the existing superstitions is the search for a logical connection between events that occur one after the other. It works here famous formula: after that - means, as a result of that. Of course, this is a logical fallacy. However, in the psychology of the masses, the notion of a completely possible supernatural connection between phenomena close or coinciding in time still continues to be preserved and serve as a source of faith in omens, forebodings, and divination. The special selectivity of our memory also helps here: one omen that has come true or some kind of prediction is remembered better than a dozen that have not come true. F. Bacon wrote about this: “This is the basis of almost all superstitions - in astrology, in dreams, in omens, in divine definitions, and the like. People who indulge in this kind of fuss celebrate the event that has come true, and ignore the one that deceived, although the latter happens much more often ”(Bacon, 1935).

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predictions, divination, horoscopes etc. In the late 80s. In the 20th century, there were 12,000 astrologers in the United States alone, another 175,000 Americans combined astrology with other pursuits, and 1,250 American newspapers regularly published horoscopes 1 . Today, our country is not far behind such indicators. As the poet A. Blok said about such phenomena a hundred years ago: "The beginning of the century, decadence, insanity of the intelligentsia."

One of the typical superstitions is belief in premonitions. Its basis is the substitution of foreboding assumptions. An assumption is an assumption of an event, the probability of which is not yet known. The ability to guess valuable property intellect. However, the combination of speculation with a sense of anxious anticipation is often experienced by people as a premonition. This usually occurs in conditions of real or potential danger and significant nervous tension, stress. If the development of events does not confirm the presentiment, then it is easily forgotten. However, confirmation of a premonition, on the contrary, is involuntarily remembered. This is how a superstitious belief is created, which easily develops into prejudice: "a presentiment never deceives me."

Close to faith in premonitions and faith in guessing, developing according to a similar mechanism. Fortune telling on a camomile (“loves - does not love ...”), a game of “even - odd” and similar habits are also a kind of prejudice and superstition.

Superstitions are condemned by dogmatic religion, though psychological nature and the structure of superstition sometimes differs little from canonized faith. The differences often come down mainly to the ideological components that determine the content of superstition.

On the one hand, superstitions are very close to faith. However, on the other hand, they often merge with prejudice. These two phenomena of religious psychology are often confused with each other. AT psychological structure superstition is usually dominated by a sense of faith that inhibits thinking. Superstition is more experienced than understood. It is based only on emotions. Even B. Spinoza once rightly stated: "... Fear is the reason due to which superstition arises, is preserved and supported" (Spinoza, 1957). Prejudice on the other hand, this is a phenomenon of an erroneous "picture of the world", in its psychological structure the element of thinking, incorrect understanding, and usually inspired from the outside, predominates. Prejudice does not happen without superstition - the latter enters as an element in its structure. At the same time, both superstition and prejudice are always phenomena of the everyday psychology of the masses, united under a common rubric.

B. Spinoza considered superstitions, although false, but still natural for the broad masses. He sincerely believed that it was impossible, and perhaps not necessary, to rid the crowd of superstitions. Voltaire proclaimed the well-known thesis: "If God did not exist, he would have to be invented." P. A. Holbach wrote: “... Atheism, like philosophy and all serious abstract sciences, is beyond the capacity of the crowd and even the majority of people” (Holbach, 1963). Thus, the psychology of superstition is an even more ancient and broad basis for the psychology of the masses than even the psychology of religion itself.

1 See: Evgenyeva T.V. Psychology of religion and problems of working with believers. M.: publishing house of the Institute of Social Sciences under the Central Committee of the CPSU, 1988.

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Currently important place in the minds of a significant part of the population of our country are superstitions. The topic of superstition remains insufficiently studied in psychology. It seems possible to single out a number of approaches to the analysis of superstitions as a mental phenomenon.

Superstition is the belief in the action of forces that are not explained by the laws of nature, which have a beneficial or bad influence on the lives of people and domestic animals, and also determine famous phenomena nature (weather, growth, birth, death). It seems possible to single out a number of approaches to the analysis of superstitions as a mental phenomenon.

cognitive approach. In this case, superstitions are analyzed as representations, as attempt to understand the inexplicable and unknown.

So, L. Levy-Bruhl considers superstition as a kind of collective ideas that arise through transmission from generation to generation as a result of the mechanisms of suggestion, infection and imitation. In superstitions, cognitive elements are mixed with emotional experiences caused by the phenomena of the surrounding world.

A. Leman emphasizes that with the help of magical operations, mankind has always strived for the knowledge of facts that lie outside the limits of ordinary experience and are inexplicable in generally accepted ways; tried to gain power over the outside world, unattainable by ordinary means.

According to P.P. Blonsky, superstitions play a huge role in "primitive science", being the perpetuation of some precedent forever and allowing you to predict the future. Those. superstitions can be considered elementary memory and imagination.

P.Ya. Galperin indicates such a function of superstition as classification and generalization of impressions from the surrounding world, but stipulates that this happens on the basis of visual, directly perceived and situationally related signs, as a result of which the essential properties of objects remain misunderstood. In superstition, the subject is bad at separating his ideas from the object that caused them. By C. Levi-Strauss , primitive classifications, although based on sensually perceived similarities and differences, serve to streamline and organize the external world, to overcome chaos.

I.R. Gabdullin holds the opinion that prejudices play the role of preliminary a priori judgments: a person living in everyday worries adheres to practical thinking, dividing objects into classes according to gross (and not essential) features, and not reasoning, because ignorance in some matter prevents him from being effective. Prejudice is overgeneralized and overcategorical characteristic, showing up not only in the cognitive act, but also expressing emotional experience that overwhelms rational reasoning.

According to V. Mezentseva , superstitions are based on belief in the miraculous, supernatural, arising from lack of knowledge. Everything that goes beyond the limits of everyday experience and does not fit into the usual ideas is perceived as supernatural.

G.G. Pocheptsov defines superstition as prejudice, consisting in the fact that the individual takes for reality unknown forces that can portend events, and considers it possible to influence them. Superstition includes the assumption that these forces can be defended or compromised with. The stability of superstitions is due to the fact that cases of their confirmation are firmly fixed, and the facts of fallacy are repressed. The desire to look into the near future and avoid adverse situations contributes to the preservation and spread of superstitions. Superstitions spread more widely in extreme circumstances.

I. Dzyaloshinskiy believes that superstition is a system of perception and description of the world, which has the character of moral realism - the world is understood as unambiguous opposition between good and evil forces.

So, we can say that superstition - it is inflexible knowledge, with difficulty or not changing at all, limited to use in everyday, household activities not related to mental labor. Superstition can be seen as a form mental reflection surrounding and inner world, which does not require logical evidence and content with any proposed solution in response to the emerging cognitive need. Superstitions allow knowledge to be carried out in a simplified, visual form without relying on abstract scientific concepts.

Another approach to understanding superstition can be considered affective-motivational approach, from the position of which superstitions are considered as an affectively saturated mental phenomenon that performs the function emotional protection. This approach was laid down L. Levy-Brulem.

B. Russell considered irrationalism as disbelief in objective facts obtained by objective methods, and as human indulgence their immediate unconscious desires and emotions. Belief in a reality different from that which the senses speak of arises in a state of emotional tension.

According to some authors, superstitions psychotherapeutic function: give hope for immortality, relieve the fear of death, give confidence in one's existence, reassure, especially in difficult, risky situations.

The feeling of powerlessness in the face of the mysterious and unknowable makes a person ignore the contradictions of direct experience and connect phenomena with each other that are actually not connected by any relationship, i.e. think rationally.

V. I. Lebedev As the psychological factors of superstition, he calls the fear of death, loneliness, a sense of powerlessness, grief, intensifying in extreme conditions of economic recession, inflation, unemployment, cultural decline. In a state of disorganization mental activity, anxiety, affect, the suggestibility that underlies mysticism.

I.D. Yalom believes that the function of magical beliefs is to protection of the individual from the fear of aging and death, from the fear of reality. Illusory beliefs desensitize the pain of existence: loss, grief, loneliness, unrequited love, depression, lack of meaning in life, the inevitability of death. Encouraging a person, they do not allow him to know his feelings, thoughts and desires.

In fact, a clear awareness of death, as opposed to the mythical ways of denying it, makes the individual wise and enriches his life. With an irrational view of the world, according to this author, the fear of freedom and responsibility is also closely related. Freedom is inextricably linked with anxiety, because. requires that a person himself be responsible for his decisions, actions, difficulties, and also that he apply volitional efforts to change your life. Responsibility means the authorship of one's life plan. People usually resist taking responsibility and realizing themselves as the creator of their problems and life's difficulties.

D.V. Olshansky shows that superstitions are a mechanism of psychological defense, self-help for people who experience constant anxiety, who can hardly endure a state of uncertainty, who need psychological control, seeking to see things only in black and white.

Following the theory A. Maslow , we can say that superstitions as stereotypical, habitual ways of solving problems allow a person to cope with his fear of the unknown and uncertainty and thus contribute to his adaptation to static and repetitive phenomena. At the same time, superstitions impede the transformation and development of the surrounding world, creativity and ingenuity. As a result, superstition as an affective phenomenon interferes with the realization of the cognitive and creative capabilities of the individual, while at the same time providing him with security, protection, familiarity; creative thinking frees a person from anxiety before the unknown, from the influence of the past, customs and conventions.

Summarizing all the above, it can be argued that superstitions relieve a person of fear of the unknown, give rise to "confidence in tomorrow". Lack of appropriate confidence in crisis situations reinforces the individual's need to be guided in his own Everyday life established centuries-old traditions and rituals, which may include superstition. Superstitious ideas are based on various fears, often irrational, inexplicable; the superstitious behavior of a person is driven by the desire to get rid of the affective experiences that weigh on him.

Following signs, a person strives protect your identity and emotional sphere from uncomfortable feelings. Most authors agree that superstitions give a person who is afraid or anxious a feeling of safety and security.

Closely related to the above psychoanalytic approach. Z. Freud considered superstition the result of projection, i.e. the transfer by a person outside of the unconscious motives of his behavior. Vaguely feeling the inner conditioning of his actions, but not finding a satisfactory explanation for them, a superstitious person, like a paranoid one, begins to place the source of superstitions in the outside world. The compensatory role of superstition was also pointed out L. Demoz and E. Bleiler.

According to E. Berna , many superstitions are based on the idea of omnipotence of thoughts and feelings, on their overestimation, distorting the perception of the real world. In addition, the images of the surrounding world are distorted by the excessive saturation of superstitions with emotions (tension, anxiety, etc.), which violates a reasonable attitude towards reality.

Magic, as well as objective knowledge, is used for the fastest and least dangerous satisfaction of needs, but unlike scientific knowledge- without taking into account objective cause-and-effect relationships, without an accurate idea of ​​reality, with insufficient control of oneself, others and nature, i.e. the reality principle is sacrificed to the pleasure principle.

Based on the theory E. Fromm , superstition can be seen as the dependence of the subject (often unconscious) on some external force, designed to protect, care for and be responsible for the results of his own actions. E. Fromm calls this external force magical helper. A magical helper, personified in superstition as deities, witches, healers and other persons with magical, supernatural abilities, is called upon to help a person satisfy his current needs without any effort of your own. To a greater or lesser extent, the activity of a superstitious person is aimed at manipulating a magical assistant and forcing him to fulfill his desires.

So, according to the psychoanalytic approach as a whole, superstitions replace missing knowledge and fill unfulfilled needs based on adverbial and object attribution.

According to behavioral approach, superstitions are extended or reduced behavior. Behaviorists view superstition as a natural consequence of the inability to understand the existence (absence) of causal relationships between one's own behavior and subsequent events in the world. Superstitious behavior is behavior that arises and is maintained as a result of random reinforcement that is in fact not consistent with it.

In accordance with social and moral approach, superstition can be considered regulator public relations , behavior in a group, the bearer of morality. In particular, B. Russell considers superstition (prejudice) as a pillar of morality.

From point of view E.A. Grushko and Yu.M. Medvedev , superstition is a concentrated experience of communicating with the nature of previous generations, determining the conditions for survival, tabooing the world around. These authors view the revival of superstition as return to folk wisdom and culture because they help to protect oneself from worldly and moral troubles.

Superstitions regulate people's behavior through personification of social and moral norms. They encourage socially useful behavior and qualities of character - diligence, goodwill, non-conflict, obedience. Superstition is also taboo different kinds activity to some extent.

Thanks to superstition saved and distributed social values and code of conduct. Superstitious behavior is an effective way to control a group through imperative attachment to a system of moral norms and prohibitions. A mode of behavior borrowed from the past serves as a standard, excluding any innovation, and deviations from the standard cause negative sanctions. The norm of behavior enshrined in superstition is characterized by universal recognition in society or a group. Permissions and prohibitions of this kind do not need to be rethought or justified: the question of what is the purpose of the prohibition and from whom does it come from does not arise before the individual at all.

As part of evolutionist approach superstitions are understood as vestige of religious tradition that existed in primitive and ancient cultures; as behavior that previously made sense, but then lost it.

So, K.K. Platonov calls superstitions vestigial fragments of past religions.

From point of view B.F. Porshneva , superstitions as manifestations of prehistoric consciousness, are a product of the lack of freedom inherent in tribal traditions and customs.

According to M. Muller , initially, at the time of their occurrence, some meaning was concluded in superstitions, possibly having a situational character, but unreasonably generalized. Subsequently, passing from generation to generation, this belief more and more lost its meaning, i.e. connection with the parent.

V.Ya. Propp considers superstition, along with witchcraft and magic, as a displaced and persecuted custom or ritual performed secretly and not consistent with the economic and social structure nationalities on this stage its development.

The affective-motivational approach to superstitions seems to us to be the most productive, since there is no doubt that superstitions, first of all, perform an affective-protective function.

Each religion includes a set of special actions necessary for believers both to express their belonging to a religious community and to strengthen their faith, their identification with this community. The combination of such actions usually constitutes a religious cult.

Religious cult for believers- almost any symbolic actions based on the belief in the possibility of influencing supernatural objects and their properties with their help. Participation in such activities partially satisfies the basic needs of social life: the need for communication, for belonging to a community.

They do and specific psychological functions, in particular, relieving the emotional stress of believers.

Socio-psychological analysis group worship in the church allows us to distinguish three successive stages in it, during which there is an increase in emotional tension, then a climax, and finally a discharge in the form of an increase in calm positive emotions. This manifests a kind of psychotherapeutic effect of the cult.

The phenomenon of mutual emotional infection, usually observed during religious holidays with the participation of a large number of believers, always creates a general emotional state that contributes to the effective operation of the mechanisms of suggestion and self-hypnosis.

At the origins psychology of prayer lie a magical conspiracy and spells. These are words that have a miraculous power and property to act not only on other people, animals and the forces of nature, but also on spirits and gods (the suggestive power of a word and verbal interpersonal communication on oneself, which in a similar way can protect oneself from attacking people, animals and evil spirits) Over time, the spell became both grateful and pleading.

Psychology of confession associated with the psychology of prayer and sacrifice. Repenting of sins, the believer does not just “ask for forgiveness” - he believes that if you ask, then forgiveness will actually be received.

The other side of confession, reflecting worldly wisdom: shared joy is double joy, shared grief is half grief. In the process of confession, the believer, as it were, shifts the burden of the deed on the shoulders of the confessor, shares with him both the deed and the responsibility for it. This enhances the effect of catharsis, which is characteristic not only of prayer, but also of any heart-to-heart conversation with a friend about one's problems and troubles. This is the key to the success of not only confessors, but also psychoanalysts and psychotherapists of various schools.

The psychology of superstition

According to K. K. Platonov, superstitions are rudimentary fragments of past religions and related cults in mass psychology. These are also acquired, new beliefs, close in psychological origin to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Because of this, it is almost impossible to fight them - they constitute the "everyday lining" of our consciousness.

The psychological explanation for most of the existing superstitions is the search for a logical connection between events that occur one after the other. Here the formula works: after that, it means, because of that. In the psychology of the masses, the notion of a quite possible supernatural connection between phenomena close or coinciding in time still continues to be preserved and serve as a source of faith in omens, forebodings and divination. The special selectivity of our memory also helps here: one omen that has come true or some kind of prediction is remembered better than a dozen that have not come true.

Motives for turning to religion

Numerous sociological surveys and specialized socio-psychological studies make it possible to differentiate the religious psychology of the masses, to isolate groups of believers whose religious community is built on various motives for turning to religion.

It is the motive of conversion that stands at the center of the mass that is psychologically formed around the church. There are six quite obviously different motives - accordingly, we can talk about six variants of the religious psychology of the masses:

· The first group of believers- people for whom religion acts as their own form of knowledge of the world. Usually these are extremely poorly educated people who simply do not have any other “picture of the world”. On the other hand, they know very well the biblical ontology, the entire mythological basis of religion. God's creation of the world and man, the presence of heaven and hell, the afterlife are quite real things for them.

· To the second group include believers whose main motive is the expectation of heavenly bliss after death. Such a motive is generated by difficult living conditions, many unsatisfied needs, as well as the fear of death. As you know, in most religions, the description of paradise is just filled with the most pleasant things. The Koran, born in the drought of the Arabian desert, teaches about paradise: “In it are rivers of water that does not spoil, and rivers of milk, the taste of which does not change, and rivers of wine, pleasant for drinkers; rivers of purified honey” (Koran, 1963). Of all religious theory, these believers best know and remember the principles of the immortality of the soul and the existence of an afterlife. The fear of death, although not always in a conscious form, occupies a significant place in the minds of modern believers. It is impossible for the body to avoid it, which means that one should console oneself with the immortality of the soul.

· The third group of believers in religion, it is not belief in the supernatural that is of interest, but the religious cult itself. The motive for their participation in cult activities is not so much the belief that with their help they can influence supernatural forces, but the satisfaction of the need for communication, in identifying themselves with a certain large group, which such participation gives. As a rule, these are lonely people who have not found their place in the groups to which they objectively belong in secular life, deeply experiencing the phenomenon of alienation. Usually they do not know religious dogmas well - except for those related to cult activities. The number of such people is increasing as society is marginalized.

· For the fourth group believers are characterized by the belief in the need for religion to preserve human morality. There are especially many such people among Muslims, whose life is almost completely regulated by Sharia - a set of both religious and moral, legal and many other norms based on the Koran. The basis of their religiosity is the belief that without religion, without fear of God's punishment, any universal moral norms will be constantly violated. The main thing for them is not participation in a religious cult, but the dissemination of moral and ethical religious principles.

· Fifth is real existing group - these are believers "just in case." In today's world, low intensity of faith is common. Accordingly, the number of people, “just in case”, is growing, from time to time fulfilling the basic, most simple prescriptions of religion, as if by tradition, passed on from older family members or a reference social group. As a rule, these people rarely think about the deep essence of religious prescriptions, acting on the principle: “What if there really is a God?”.

· As the sixth group people masquerading as believers are often singled out. It's about not about manipulators, although there are some, and not about those for whom religion is a profession and a source of income (among the preachers of newfangled sects, the example of the head of the Moonist sect S. M. Moon, the former dictator of Guatemala R. Montt, is not forgotten shortly after joining the office in 1982, declared himself a "prophet" appointed by God himself to save the country).

Serious problem lies in the fact that in countries where belonging to a particular religion serves as a criterion of political and social "reliability", the main, and sometimes the only motive for turning to religion is the desire to acquire a higher social status. Naturally, it is for this status that they go to church.

The listed groups and the differences between their representatives are largely conditional. They far from exhaust all possible motives for turning to religion, they do not exclude the existence mixed types- believers whose religiosity is determined simultaneously by several motives. However, even this, the most primary analysis of religious motivation seems to be quite productive for a deeper understanding of the reality that is commonly referred to as the "religious psychology of the masses."

Main conclusions

1. Religion is one form public consciousness.

The main object of the psychology of religion as a section social psychology- everyday religious consciousness of the broad masses of believers, or, in other words, religious psychology as one of the elements of everyday consciousness in general. From a secular point of view, there are three main groups of roots of religious psychology. social roots are usually associated with the search for some way out of the daily hardships of life associated with the social inequality of people. Epistemological roots - with limited human knowledge, sometimes distorting the picture of the real world.

Socio-psychological roots are associated with four main points:

1. First, with the ability of consciousness to form abstract concepts such as the concept of "God".

2. Secondly, with unconscious components thinking and activity, not always clear to the person himself and associated with otherworldly forces.

3. Thirdly, with human emotions requiring a way out - in particular, in religion.

4. Fourthly, with the psychological division "we - they", which underlies the formation of religious communities.

There are five socio-psychological functions of religion: integrating, communicative, compensatory, ideological and regulatory.

Special Feature is the awakening in a person of a sense of faith and the maintenance of this feeling in him.

Faith - a feeling that creates the illusion of knowledge and the reality of what is created by fantasy with the participation of the same feeling. Faith is an essential component of religious consciousness. As a rule, faith is expressed in the acceptance of certain statements without evidence. Statements of this kind do not arise spontaneously in the mind. individual person and are not the result of analyzing people's own experiences. They are usually embedded in mass consciousness, and in ready-made. According to the propagation mechanism, faith is associated with psychological phenomena suggestion, infection and imitation and as a result of the action of these phenomena, and as the willingness of people to succumb to their action. The feeling of faith, like any emotional state, is subject to the influence of "circular reaction" and "emotional whirling". Therefore, faith, on the one hand, easily forms a mass of believers, and on the other hand, its spread and strengthening occurs precisely in the mass. Only in the mass can faith reach the level of irrepressible passion and take the form of religious ecstasy.

Any religion includes a set of special actions necessary for believers to express their belonging to a religious community and strengthen both their faith and personal identification with this community. The totality of such actions is a religious cult. religious cult for believers, these are practically any symbolic actions based on the belief in the possibility of influencing supernatural objects and their properties with their help. Essential Elements religious worship - prayer, different forms sacrifice and confession.

There are six main motives conversion of people to religion

1. Firstly, religion attracts as a form of knowledge and understanding of the world.

2. Secondly, it captivates with the expectation of heavenly bliss after death.

3. Thirdly, it attracts the religious cult itself, its rituals. Fourth, religion is considered important condition preservation of morality. Fifth, some turn to religion "just in case." Sixth, disguise as believers for the sake of achieving non-religious goals turns out to be a special motive.

Social psychology: lecture notes Melnikova Nadezhda Anatolyevna

LECTURE No. 22. Psychology of religion. Features of religious consciousness

Religion is one of the forms of social consciousness (social life) social groups and personalities, with the help of which people communicate (try to communicate) with reality, but not with the one that we encounter in everyday reality, but with another that lies beyond the limits of everyday experience.

Religion– special sphere manifestations of the human psyche, associated with the search for a spiritual and psychological niche, ideological and other guidelines and functioning in the form of beliefs and practical actions that people turn to when they are unable to solve their everyday problems on your own in the struggle for their existence in the difficult conditions of the real world around them.

The deep sources of religion originate in the peculiarities of the functioning of the human psyche.

Believers tend to associate their initial conversion to religion with a miracle, with unexpected insight and enlightenment, communion with God.

Man's contact with the reality of religion is his religious experience.

Religion can be manipulated and used for various purposes.

The peculiarity of religion.

There are a number of psychological indicators that help to understand what religion is.

Firstly, religion is a specific form of social consciousness (social life) of people, which has its own characteristics and causes peculiar states of the psyche of believers.

Secondly, religion presupposes the existence of special groups - groups of believers and confessional (group) exclusivity.

Thirdly, religion is associated with belief in images and concepts that are considered sacred and are treated as supernatural.

Fourthly, religion implies a certain set of beliefs expressed in religious canons.

Fifthly, religion presupposes a special set of certain cult actions and rituals.

The classification of religions. The main approaches to the classification of religions are diverse.

There are normative, geographical, ethnographic, philosophical, morphological, linguistic and other principles for their classification.

For psychology, it is important to classify religions on two grounds - by orientation and by geographical feature, which makes it possible to clearly identify both their specificity and their identical origin, similarity, visible to the naked eye. They usually differ:

1) the religions of Abrahamic monotheism (belief in one God), growing out of ancient Judaism and including Judaism, Christianity and Islam;

2) religions of Indian origin, represented by Hinduism, southern Buddhism (Theravada), Jainism and Sikhism;

3) Far Eastern religions - Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Northern Buddhism (Mahayana).

This list is supplemented ethnic religions belonging to the diverse cultures of small societies, which are sometimes regarded as primitive, are the religions of the natives of Africa, Polynesia, Australia, North American Indians.

Other ancient religions have already lost their existence: these are the religions of the Babylonians, the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Mayans, the Aztecs, etc.

religious consciousness- an illusory reflection of reality.

It is typical for him to comprehend not the real reality, but the fictional one.

The religious consciousness of both an individual and a group cannot exist outside of certain myths, images and ideas that are assimilated by people in the process of their socialization.

Religious consciousness is distinguished by high sensual clarity, the creation of various religious images by the imagination, the combination of content adequate to reality with illusions, the presence of religious faith, symbolism, strong emotional richness, functioning with the help of religious vocabulary and other special signs.

Functional side religious consciousness satisfies the needs of believers, giving the necessary direction to the manifestations of their ideology and psychology, forming their certain moral and psychological state, contributing to an effective impact on their psyche.

Features of religious consciousness:

1) close control of religious institutions over the psyche and consciousness of believers, their behavior;

2) a clear thoughtfulness of the ideology and psychological mechanisms of its introduction into the minds of believers.

Religious faith unites the content and functional aspects of religious consciousness.

Faith is a special psychological state of people's confidence in achieving a goal, in the occurrence of an event, in their intended behavior, in the truth of ideas, given the lack of accurate information about the achievability of the goal.

religious faith- this is faith in the truth of religious dogmas, texts, ideas, in the objective existence of beings, properties, transformations that constitute the subject content of religious images; the possibility of communicating with seemingly objective beings, influencing them and receiving help from them; into religious authorities - fathers, teachers, saints, prophets, charismatics, church hierarchs, clergymen, etc.

The structure of religious consciousness includes religious ideology and religious psychology.

Religious ideology- this is a more or less harmonious system of concepts, ideas, concepts, the development and promotion of which are carried out by religious organizations.

Religious ideology is the result of purposeful, systematized activity, which finds its expression in the form of teachings that fix the foundations of religious worldview.

Religious psychology- set religious beliefs, needs, stereotypes, attitudes, feelings, habits and traditions associated with a certain system of religious ideas and inherent in the entire mass of believers.

It is formed under the influence of the immediate conditions of life and religious ideology.

A person becomes a supporter of a particular religion not from birth, but due to certain reasons: factors that, from the point of view of this person, make his faith necessary.

Typology of worldview groups of people (based on their attitude to religion and atheism):

1) deeply religious. Having a deep religious faith. Faith is mainly realized in behavior.

2) believers. The presence of religious faith. Faith is poorly implemented in behavior.

3) hesitant. The presence of fluctuations between belief and unbelief. Separate elements of religious behavior are possible.

People who are indifferent to religion. There is no religious faith, but there are no atheistic beliefs either.

Religious behavior is absent, although some of its manifestations are not excluded.

passive atheists. There are atheistic beliefs, but they are not always deep and conscious.

Religious behavior is completely absent, but atheistic beliefs are poorly implemented in behavior.

active atheists. The presence of deep atheistic beliefs. Atheistic beliefs are realized in behavior.

Religious, believing people in their thoughts and actions rely on certain role models.

Typology of religious personalities, which has developed in the course of the development of religious practice, which ordinary believers are guided by:

1) mystic- the type of believer who seeks to escape from the world around him and its influence, most often an individualist loner;

2) prophet- a person who has an irregular but intense religious experience.

A prophet, unlike a mystic, is with people all the time;

3) clergyman mediator between man and god.

Its main function is to correctly build the order of worship according to religious canons.

4) reformato p - a person who is within the framework of a particular religious tradition, seeking to transform this tradition in accordance with their own religious experience;

5) monk- a member of a religious order who has retired from secular life to a special secluded or already consecrated place by religion in order to lead a traditional religious lifestyle and adhere to high moral and ritual requirements;

6) monk - hermit- a person who needs solitary living in wild, deserted places with harsh nature to bring about a purification of the soul and an intense religious experience;

7) holy- a person who embodies in the eyes of the religious society the ideal of perfection in one form or another;

8) theologian- a type of intellectual theorist, whose task is to express the beliefs of a given religious community in a conceptually rational form;

9) founder of religion- a figure, in its scale far superior to all other types of religious personalities.

His religious experience is so unique and intense that it becomes the basis of a new religion.

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