Winner of the 1999 William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association
1: Believing in Magic
2: The Superstitious Person
3: Superstition and Coincidence
4: Superstitious Thinking
5: Growing Up Superstitious
6: Is Superstition Abnormal, Irrational, or Neither?
7: A Magical View of the World
Coda:
Notes:
References:
Index:
Stuart A. Vyse is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Connecticut College.
"Vyse, a psychology professor at Connecticut College, has drawn
from research in several disciplines...to produce a
thought-provoking analysis of modern-day belief in magic. Vyse's
lucid prose and sense of humor make the book thoroughly readable
and enjoyable....Lengthy notes and references round out an
excellent resource for readers who wish to pursue a particular
aspect of the pyschology of superstition. Highly
recommended."--Kliatt
"Professor Vyse presents the historical, sociocultural, and
psychological basis for superstition in a clear, interesting, and
even entertaining way. What easily could have been a dry,
over-intellectualized tome is, instead, a gem of a book that
engaginly tells the story of what science has learned about
superstition, of how pervasive and powerful superstition can be,
and of why critical thinking skills are so important in everyday
life."--Douglas A. Bernstein,
Professor of Psychology, University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign
"Many books deal with irrational beliefs but have little to say
about why people cling to superstitions...and what can be done to
stem the rising tide of interest in pseudoscience and the
paranormal. Professor Vyse has filled this vacuum with a book as
entertaining as it is enlightening."--Martin Gardner
"This book can be rewritten or updated every fifteen years, I
believe, since new claptrap presents itself every day. And there
are always victims out there ready to surrender their common sense
for a talisman...or a ritual that puts them 'in' with their peers
and gives them the warm glow of being avant-garde. Meanwhile, I
urge the rationalists out there to snap up this book when they see
it. It may be heading for the bonfires."--James Randi, The James
Randi
Educational Foundation, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
"Employing scientific techniques and utilizing hard facts, Vyse
shows how silly superstition really is.... This is a highly
informative book, dealing with everything from chain letters to
lucky charms to the lottery system."--Amazon
"Vyse presents plenty of uncomfortable truths about the way most of
us think, and plumbs a vast literary repertoire ranging from
Chaucer and Melville through Leon Festinger (the author of the
theory of cognitive dissonance)to get us into his corner."--Voice
Literary Supplement
"An engaging introduction to psychology focused on a topic,
superstition, of inherent interest to us all."--Valerie M. Chase,
The Boston Book Review
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