On the Adaptive Value of Paranormal Beliefs - a Qualitative Study
- Ten female and five male participants (age range 28–50 years) were recruited at esoteric fairs or via esoteric chatrooms. In a guided face-to-face interview, they reported origins and contents of their beliefs in e.g. esoteric practices, supernatural beings, rebirthing, channeling. Transcripts of the tape-recorded reports were subjected to a qualitative analysis. Exhaustive categorization of the narratives’ content revealed that paranormal beliefs were functional with regard to two fundamental motives – striving for mastery and valuing me and mine (striving for a positive evaluation of the self). Moreover, paranormal beliefs paved the way for goal-setting and leading a meaningful life but, on the negative side, could also result in social exclusion. Results are discussed with reference to the adaptive value of paranormal beliefs.
Download full text files
Additional Services
Statistics
| Author: | Tilmann Betsch, Paul Jäckel, Mareike Hammes, Babette Julia Brinkmann |
|---|---|
| URN: | urn:nbn:de:hbz:832-epub4-21286 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-020-09594-5 |
| ISSN: | 1932-4502 |
| ISSN: | 1936-3567 |
| Parent Title (English): | Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science |
| Publisher: | Springer US |
| Document Type: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Date of first Publication: | 2021/06/01 |
| Date of Publication (online): | 2023/04/24 |
| GND-Keyword: | Anpassung |
| Tag: | Adaptation; Mastery; Meaning; Paranormality; Self |
| Volume: | 55 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Page Number: | 11 Seiten |
| Institutes: | Angewandte Sozialwissenschaften (F01) / Fakultät 01 / Institut für Geschlechterstudien |
| Dewey Decimal Classification: | 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften |
| Open Access: | Open Access |
| DeepGreen: | DeepGreen |
| Licence (German): |  Creative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |