Repetitious, time-intensive magical rituals considered more effective, study shows

the culture of deference

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-repetitious-time-intensive-magical-rituals-effective.html



Even in this modern age of science, people are likely to find logic in supernatural rituals that require a high degree of time and effort, according to new research from The University of Texas at Austin.


"One of the most remarkable characteristics of human cognition is the capacity to use supernatural reasoning to explain the world around us,"

"We argue that the characteristics of ritual are the product
of an evolved cognitive system."

it's natural for people to find logic in supernatural rituals that emphasize repetition and procedural steps. If doing something once has some
effect, then repeating it must have a greater effect.

Legare and graduate student André Souza conducted a study in Brazil, a country suffused with rituals called simpatias. Used for solving problems as
varied as quitting smoking, curing asthma and warding off bad luck, simpatias are formulaic rituals that involve various steps and repetition.

The psychologists presented 162 Brazilian respondents several versions of these rituals. Each was modified with different characteristics, such as repetition of procedures, number of steps, number of items used, and
the presence of religious icons.

As part of the study, Legare asked the respondents to rate the effectiveness of each ritual.


To see how magical rituals are perceived across cultures, the researchers conducted the same study with 68 U.S. respondents of various religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.

they were more inclined to believe in rituals involving numerous repetitions and steps.

Knasher

Sounds similar to the studies that show that the placebo effect increases the more you pay.

18AD

It's like the superstitious pigeons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition#Superstition_and_psychology

I think there're various studies that show that superstitious behaviour actually improves your performance. It would seem advantageous to use the "placebo" effect of ritual to enhance your life. Unless there're better ways.

Nodin

.....theres an odd resemblance to certain forms of OCD there.

Quatermain

I've heard this before, but I always run out of eye of newt, and my throat gets dry from screaming the secret names of the Lords of Atlantis. Ah, well. I guess I'm not meant to be a sorcerer after all.