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Full Description
Magical thinking and behavior have traditionally been viewed as immature, misleading alternatives to scientific thought that in children inevitably diminish with age. In adults, these inclinations have been labeled by psychologists largely as superstitions that feed on frustration, uncertainty, and the unpredictable nature of certain human activities.
In Magic and the Mind, Eugene Subbotsky provides an overview of the mechanisms and development of magical thinking and beliefs throughout the life span while arguing that the role of this type of thought in human development should be reconsidered. Rather than an impediment to scientific reasoning or a byproduct of cognitive development, in children magical thinking is an important and necessary complement to these processes, enhancing creativity at problem-solving and reinforcing coping strategies, among other benefits. In adults, magical thinking and beliefs perform important functions both for individuals (coping with unsolvable problems and stressful situations) and for society (enabling mass influence and promoting social harmony). Operating in realms not bound by physical causality, such as emotion, relationships, and suggestion, magical thinking is an ongoing, developing psychological mechanism that, Subbotsky argues, is integral in the contexts of politics, commercial advertising, and psychotherapy, and undergirds our construction and understanding of meaning in both mental and physical worlds. Magic and the Mind represents a unique contribution to our understanding of the importance of magical thinking, offering experimental evidence and conclusions never before collected in one source. It will be of interest to students and scholars of developmental psychology, as well as sociologists, anthropologists, and educators.
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1
Magical reality
Chapter 2
Children and magic
Chapter 3
Verbal magical beliefs and children's everyday experience
Chapter 4
Magical thinking and children's cognitive development
Chapter 5
Beyond childhood
Chapter 6
Culture and magical thinking
Chapter 7
Magic and exploratory behavior
Chapter 8
Magical thinking and imagination
Chapter 9
Magic and human communication
Chapter 10
Magical beliefs and psychological defense
Chapter 11
Magical thinking and the mind
Chapter 12
Magical thinking and beliefs across life span: a summary
Epilogue
Plunging into a Utopia
