Superstitious Beliefs and Behaviours

The chapter begins by exploring belief and behaviour, how they are distinguishable and yet interrelated. Examples of both superstitious beliefs and behaviours are proffered, based on them being described as such in the literature. However, whether a belief or behaviour is deemed superstitious will largely depend upon the disciplinary, epistemological and ontological lens of the scholar and their own cultural and social experience. In other words, superstition is a construction. The chapter explores some classifications of superstitions, for example, in terms of whether they are positivePositive superstitions or negativeNegative superstitions, passivePassive superstitions or proactiveProactive superstitions. It also discusses a variety of constructs relevant to, and associated with superstition, such as; popular epistemically unwarranted beliefs (PEUB)Popular epistemically unwarranted beliefs (PEUB)/epistemically suspect beliefs (ESB) , Pseudo-Profound Bullshit (PPB) Pseudo-profound bullshit (PPB)/Pseudoscientific BeliefsPseudoscience/pseudoscientific beliefs, Conspiracy Theories/BeliefsConspiracy beliefs/theories and magical realismMagical realism/thinking. The chapter concludes with an argument to interrogate beliefs and behaviours to establish whether they are based on superstition or not, by drawing upon an analytical, critical and methodological approach. Doing so reveals whether a source can be relied upon in decision making or whether it appears to rest upon superstition or other unwarranted beliefs.