Years after his death, “John Lennon” returned on tour to the United States, especially in areas affected by natural disasters: on this trip, the former Beatle was simply his piano, in particular the one who composed Imagine. Without protective ropes, the musical instrument could be touched or played by anyone. “It was like sleeping in your grandfather’s sweatshirt at night: familiar, beautiful and personal,” said one Hurricane Katrina survivor. “It emanates his spirit, what he has believed, and what he has preached for many years,” said the tour director, adding that “I have never gone anywhere to say that this is a magic piano that will cure your ills; no “I had no idea that an inanimate object could give so much to people.”
We may not be fans of the Beatles, or the late John Lennon, and we may hate peace and love, but we are intrinsically driven to find meaning in the world. Although we are skeptical, somehow we still believe in magic, and in this Psychology-Online article we are going to discover What is magical thinking, along with its characteristics and functions, with some examples like this to understand it better.
What is magical thinking
Magical thinking, or superstitious thinking, is the belief that unrelated events are causally related despite the absence of any plausible causal relationship among them, especially as a result of supernatural effects.
Belief in these magical and superstitious forms is based on a form of thinking called pre-logic. In his studies on cognitive development, (1926) he found magical thinking in , by which children construct reality based on beliefs such as animism, realism and magical participation.
- He animism It is configured as the tendency of children to attribute a soul, like living beings, to all objects, animate and not.
- He realismHowever, it consists of the poor distinction between external and internal reality.
- The magical participation refers to the belief that performing a particular gesture will influence the occurrence of an event. In this phase, therefore, the principles of causality as understood by rational thought are not yet structured, but are based on different relationships, such as similarity and contiguity.
There are many theories that explain magical thinking. For example, for socio-cognitivists, this way of thinking is attributable to a lack of logical processes, due to the immaturity of the cognitive structures typical of children and primitive peoples. Moscovici (1997) is not of the same position, according to which the thinking of primitives is due to a different global culture within which they are inserted: in primitive peoples there are no polarities, for example, that we consider to be the basis of our thinking. , as between the material and the spiritual.
Characteristics of magical thinking
Among the principles and characteristics of magical thinking, we find:
- Stake. It represents the center around which the entire functioning of this form of thought revolves, since through it a relationship between two phenomena is perceived that in reality is absolutely non-existent and not real. The magic of thought is then born from the illusion that is established in an individual who, more or less unconsciously, is convinced, by virtue of said fictitious relationship, of being able to modify reality.
- Impermeability to experience. In people whose mind predominantly follows a magical mode of reasoning, when experiences contradict their thinking there is no need to explain the failure. Thus the failures of a magical ritual can be attributed to an error in memory, to an error in the execution of a rite, to the will of the spirits or to counter-magic.
- Breakdown of space-time organization. It represents the main difference between magical thinking and logical thinking, it acts by making possible an artificial, illogical and paradoxical causality. Compared to spatial logic, the rupture caused by magical thinking consists of creating a coincidence between the whole and its parts, even when they are separated. Consequently, for example, someone who also possesses an insignificant part of a person’s body, for example a hair or a nail, can convince himself that he can act on it by acting on the person.
- Pre-symbolism. Magical thinking is closely related to the primitive use of symbols, and magic is situated in the intermediate area of the evolution of symbols, that in which the symbols are still attached to things although they are already partially separated. Therefore, symbols in magical thinking are still conceived as participants in things and are used in a pre-symbolic stage.
Functions of magical thinking
The presence of magical thinking predominantly in children’s mental life and its persistence in adulthood is justified by three main functions (Bonino, 1994), partially coinciding:
- defensive function, founded on the conviction, which this thought nourishes, of being able to control reality; This function is essential in the developmental age to face situations that cause anxiety or insecurity. It is also the reason why in problematic situations some adults retreat, resorting to this way of thinking to not accept and face reality.
- propitiatory functionfounded on the conviction that there are forces that regulate events, which is fulfilled in all the conditions in which one acts in consideration of these powers.
- Cognitive functionby which magical thinking fills the gaps of other forms of thought and reveals what cannot be known according to logic.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Biasioni, A. (2018). Il Pensiero Magico e il nosstro bisogno di Senso. Recovered from: https://online-psicologo.eu/il-pensiero-magico-e-il-nostro-bisogno-di-senso/
- Monaco, M. (2021). The magical thoughts and illusions of everyday rationality. Recovered from: http://www.benessere.com/psicologia/arg00/pensiero_magico.htm
- Sarpato, A. (2012). Superstizioni and magic pensiero. Retrieved from: https://www.davidealgeri.com/pensiero-magico-e-superstizioni/