Have you ever wondered why we have different beliefs about supernatural occurrences? Some of us who are fans of horror movies or avid readers of ghost stories can feel excited about this spooky period! Another group of us may feel extra cautious and more sensitive to our surroundings. On the other hand, it is business as usual for some, as we go about our days normally. According to YouGov (2018), two thirds of Singaporeans believe in ghosts. So, why do some people believe in ghosts and others don’t? Let us have a closer look at this in our article!
How do we conceptualize other beings?
In cognitive psychology, it is said that how we understand messages of unseen entities is related to how we understand of the minds of other humans – the theory of mind. This is something that humans needs to take the perspective of other individuals, and we typically develop this by age 4 to 5. In order for us to belief in the supernatural or spirits, we need to see others as thinking and feeling beings like ourselves, who can do things with intentions (Bering, 2006).
Do people with certain traits have a higher likelihood to believe in ghosts?
Thinking Styles
A study has found that cognitive thinking styles is related to a person’s belief in the supernatural. One research suggests that individuals who engages in intuitive thinking are more likely to believe in the supernatural whereas when analytic thinking is engaged, this belief decreases. (Bouvet & Bonnefon, 2015). You may be wondering, what is intuitive thinking? Intuitive thinking is one where information is processed by a fast and automatic cognitive pathway (Bouvet & Bonnefon, 2015). It was found that uncanny experiences led to intuitions about supernatural causation, whether this intuition is accepted as supernatural depends on one’s thinking style (Bouvet & Bonnefon, 2015).
Socio-cultural context
In contrary to the above, other studies have suggested that socio-cultural context is more likely to affect supernatural belief, compared to thinking styles (Farias et al, 2017). Considering that we are influenced by our surrounding culture, it is probable that our beliefs in the supernatural is linked to our social fabric!
In Asia, we have different types of beliefs and religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism and so on. Some religions do have beliefs of ghosts, which may have contributed to our beliefs. In Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, there is a belief in the transmigration of the soul which will exit the body in death to enter the cycle of rebirth and in some cases, souls remain on earth in the form of ghosts (Davies, 2010, Harvey, 2009). Such beliefs are pass down early in life through social rituals such as worshipping of ancestors and telling of ghost tales (Crowder, 2003, Terwiel, 1994). Chinese children are told to avoid getting close to dead bodies as they are thought to bring about bad luck (Chan & Lai Cecilla., 2009). Such fear of ghosts is brought forth to children when they are young, and this perpetuates into their adult lives. Singaporean Chinese believe that the deceased who are buried without proper rituals causes them to wander without peace and harass those who are alive (Comaroff, 2007). With such influences since young, it is logical for some of us to continue having such beliefs as we grow up.
Some of us may be wondering, does religious beliefs also influence our belief in the supernatural? Some psychologists studying religion have suggested that the belief in paranormal can be a type of shield of the harsher realities of the world (Robson, 2014). The idea is that the brain scrambles to find meaning when an unexpected event happens, such as a death, job loss or natural disaster. It is an aversive state whereby we try to gain control through perceiving more structures around us, even if they do not exist, in order to feel a sense of control (Robson, 2014). For instance, it was found that by simply asking individuals to think about a time where they felt out of control, people started to observe illusory forces influencing their lives, such as linking two unrelated events and observing patterns in the stock market (Robson, 2014). Some may prefer to believe that a being is trying to get us ill rather than acknowledging that we have no control over this.
Openness to experience
Research has also found that openness to experience significantly predicts paranormal beliefs (Farias et al, 2017). Studies have found that individuals who believe in supernatural phenomena have the tendency to fantasize (Smith et al., 2009). Those who are more open to experience are more receptive to their own feelings and emotions and may be more receptive to new ideas and less fixed in their own belief systems (Smith et al., 2009). These may explain why individuals who are more open to experiences may be more inclined to believe in the supernatural.
Now that you’ve learnt a bit more about why some people believe in the supernatural, can you think about why you believe (or do not believe) in the supernatural?
We hope you enjoyed this special blogpost for this spooky season! Happy Halloween!
Camellia Wong, MA., Tan Khai Teng
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Reference
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Bouvet, R., & Bonnefon, J.-F. (2015). Non-reflective thinkers are predisposed to attribute supernatural causation to uncanny experiences. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41(7), 955–961. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167215585728
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