"Fearless faith": Increasing Risk-taking through Magical Thinking
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Magical practices and their association with events and activities the outcome of which is uncertain (risky actions) have been observed at lenght, both in different cultures and in individuals, as much as in the real world, through questionnaires and experimental investigations. Many studies have already explored the effect of ritualizing behaviors that reduce anxiety in stress conditions, but leave open the question of the effect of magical thinking. Magical thinking, which occurs under conditions of uncertainty and feelings of loss of control, could have a similar anxiolytic effect on coping even without the associated ritualization. This paper explores the effect of magical thinking on risk-taking. This research was conducted through a questionnaire survey divided into (1) determining personal levels of magical thinking, (2) willingness to take risks in various situations, and (3) obtaining relevant control data (e.g., demographics). The magical thinking section also served as a priming of magical thinking in the experimental group. This phase preceded the questions on willingness to take risks. In contrast, the control group began the questionnaire with questions on risky behavior. This investigation will show, by comparing the experimental and control groups, whether a higher level of magical thinking is associated with increased levels of risk-taking (in general or specifically for certain types of risk). |
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