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Superstitious behaviour and Stress

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Research the article: Keinan G (2002) The effects of stress and desire for control on superstitious behaviour. Personality and Social psychology Bulletin 28, 102-108

For many people, magical or superstitious thinking can bring comfort in times of stress. This study was done to see how many people would "knock on wood" for luck when asked about their health or good fortune. The subjects would sit at a wooden table and answer several questions about various issues by the interviewer. Whenever a question regarding their health or good fortune was asked, it was determined that more people actually did "knock on wood" for those specific questions.

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Solution Summary

Assessing whether people who are superstitious indulge in such behavior even more so when under stress.

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The assignment is to give a summary of the article Keinan G (2002) The effects of stress and desire for control on superstitious behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 28, pg. 102-108. You are also supposed to give your thoughts about the article.
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The article talks about magical thinking and superstitions and the way some individuals in society believe in it. The article explains that magical thinking can be beneficial in some situations by giving the individual hope and a more positive attitude; which would help the person achieve whatever was needed.

Past research has shown that stress increases this type of behavior. The author decided ...

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