Magical thinking in Indian adult sample: An exploratory study.
Keywords:
Magical thinking/ belief, Obsessive- compulsive disorder,, Psychosis,, Perceived stress,, OC features.Abstract
Magical belief and related behaviours are universal phenomena. However, it has
been widely explored in relation with obsessive- compulsive disorder and psychosis. It
is a much-researched topic of west but Asian data on the same is meagre. Aim- present
study aims to explore magical thinking in Indian sample and its relation with OC
features and perceived stress. The study also explores age and gender related difference
in the sample. Methods- a sample of 246 participants (144 male and 102 female) from
community was recruited. For this purpose, illusory belief scale was used to measure
magical thinking, perceived stress scale was used to measure perceived stress and
obsessive- compulsive inventory- revised was used to measure OC features in the
sample. Results- group difference for females was found to be high on magical thinking
measure whereas group difference for males was found to be high on OCI-r. Age- related
variability was not observed in the study. Significant positive correlation was
found between magical thinking, perceived stress, and OC features.
References
Adams, T. G., Kelmendi, B., Brake, C. A., Gruner, P., Badour, C.L., & Pittenger, C.
(2018). The role of stress in the pathogenesis and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive
disorder. Journal of Chronic Stress, 2, http://doi.org/10.1177/2470547018758043
Afhami R., Danesh N., & Mohammadi-Zarghan S. (2019). Magical thinking and
superstitious beliefs in Iranian culture. Journal of Culture Cognition & Science,
http://doi.org/10.1007/s41809-019-00026-4
Ayar, D., Aksu, C., Çakı, B., & Güngörmüş, Z. (2022). The relationship between
paranormal beliefs, social efficacy and social outcome expectations in muslim society:
The case of turkey. Journal of religion and health. 61(6), 4807–4824,
http://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01467-4
Bocci L. & Gordon K. (2007). Does magical thinking produce neutralizing behavior?
An experimental investigation. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 1823–1833.
Bolton, D., Dearsley, P., Madronal-Luque, R., & Baron-Cohen, S (2002). Magical
thinking in childhood and adolescence: Development and relation to obsessive
compulsion. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20, 479–494.
Brashier & Multhup (2017). Magical thinking decreases across adulthood. Journal of
Psychology and Aging, 32 (8), 681–688, http://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000208
Cohen, S., Kamarch, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived
stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385- 396.
Einstein, D. A., & Menzies, R. G. (2004). The presence of magical thinking in obsessive
compulsive disorder. Journal of Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 539–549,
http://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00160-8
Einstein, D. A., & Menzies, R. G. (2006). Magical thinking in obsessive- compulsive
disorder, panic disorder and the general community. Journal of Behavioural and
Cognitive Psychotherapy, 34, 351–357, http://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465806002864.
Einstein, D. A., & Menzies, R. G. (2008). Does magical thinking improve across
treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder? Behaviour Change, 25, 149–155,
http://doi.org/10.1375/bech.25.3.149
Einstein, D. A., Menzies, R. A., Clare, T., Drobny, J., & Helgadottir, F. (2011). The
treatment of magical ideation in two individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder.
Journal of The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist 4, 16- 29,
http://doi.org/10.1017/S1754470X10000140
Evans, D., Milanak, M., Medeiros, B., & Ross, J. (2002). Magical beliefs and rituals in
young children. Journal of Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 33(1), 43- 58.
Edu, M. (2014). Superstitious beliefs among African Americans. International Journal
of Education and Social Science, 1 (5), 113- 118.
Ferreira, S., Couto, B., Sousa, M., Vieira, R., Sousa, N., Picó-Pérez, M., & Morgado,
P. (2021). Stress influences the effect of obsessive- compulsive symptoms on emotion
regulation. Journal of Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, http://doi.org/
3389/fpsyt.2020.594541
Foa, E. B., Huppert, J. D., Leiberg, S., Langner, R., Kichic, R., & Hajcak, G. (2002).
The obsessive-compulsive inventory: Development and validation of a short version.
Psychological Assessment, 14(4), 485–496.
Goods, N., Rees, C., Egan, S., & Kane, R. (2014). The relationship between magical
thinking, inferential confusion and obsessive- compulsive symptoms. Journal of
Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 43, 342–350.
Homayuni, A. (2023). Investigating the correlation between perceived stress and health
anxiety with obsessive–compulsive disorder and quality of life during COVID-19
pandemic. Journal of BMC Psychology, 11 (54), https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-
-w
Irwin, H. J. (2009). The psychology of paranormal belief: A researcher’s handbook.
Hatfield, UK: University of Hertfordshire Press.
Karcher, N. R., Slutske, W. S., Kerns, J. G., & Piasecki, T. M. (2014). Sex differences
in magical ideation: A community- based twin study. Journal of personality disorder,
, 212–219, http://doi.org/10.1037/per0000040
Keinan, G. (1994). Effects of stress and tolerance of ambiguity on magical thinking.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 48-55.
Kingdon, B., Egan, S., & Rees, C. (2012). The Illusory Beliefs Inventory: A new
measure of magical thinking and its relationship with obsessive- compulsive disorder.
Journal of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 40, 39–53,
http://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465811000245
Kracker, I., A., Antônio, C., C., Rosário, M., C., Fontenelle, L., F., Constantino, M., E.,
& Arzeno, F., Y. (2020). Stressful life events and the clinical expression of obsessivecompulsive
disorder (OCD): An exploratory study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(10),
https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9103371
Lasikiewicz, N., & Teo, W., Y. (2018). The effect of superstitious thinking on
psychosocial stress responses and perceived task performance. Asian Journal of Social
Psychology, http://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12195
Peltzer, K. (2002). Magical thinking and paranormal beliefs among secondary and
university students in South Africa. Journal of Personality and Individual Differences,
, 1419–1426.
Piaget, J., P. (1929). The child's conception of the world. London: Routledge & Kegan
Paul.
Subbotsky, E. V. (2001). Causal explanations of events by children and adults: Can
alternative causal modes coexist in one mind? British Journal of Developmental
Psychology, 19, 23–46.
Subbotsky, E. V. (2004). Magical thinking in judgments of causation: Can anomalous
phenomena affect ontological causal beliefs in children and adults? British Journal of
Developmental Psychology, 22, 123–152.
Subbotsky, E. V. (2005). The permanence of mental objects: testing magical thinking
on perceived and imaginary realities. Journal of Developmental Psychology, 41 (2),
–318.
Subbotsky, E. V. (2009). Can magical intervention affect subjective experiences?
Adults’ reactions to magical suggestion. British Journal of Psychology, 100, 517–537.
Subbotsky, E. V. (2014). The belief in magic in the age of science. Sage open, 1-17,
http://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014521433
Simonds, L. M., Demetre, J. D., & Read, C. (2009). Relationships between magical
thinking, obsessive- compulsiveness and other forms of anxiety in a sample of nonclinical
children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 27, 457–471.
Morgado, P., Freitas, D., Bessa, J., M., Sousa, N., & Cerqueira, J., J. (2013). Perceived
tress in obsessive- compulsive disorder is related with obsessive but not compulsive
symptoms. Journal of Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2, http://doi.org/
3389/fpsyt.2013.00021
Moulding, R., & Kyrios, M. (2006). Anxiety disorders and control related beliefs: the
exemplar of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Journal of Clinical Psychology
Review, 26, 573–583, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.01.009
Turley, D., Drake, R., Killackey, E., & Yung, A., R. (2019). Perceived stress and
psychosis: The effect of perceived stress on psychotic-like experiences in a community
sample of adolescents. Journal of Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 1–5.
https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.12795
Yorulmaz, O., Inozu, M., & Gültepe, B. (2011). The role of magical thinking in
obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms and cognitions in an analogue sample.
Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 42, 198–203, http://doi.org/
1016/j.jbtep.2010.11.007
West, B., & Wilner, P. (2011). Magical Thinking in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Journal of Behavioural and Cognitive
Psychotherapy, 39, 399–411, http://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465810000883
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
