Aberrant Salience and Motivation as Factors in the Formation of Belief in Scientifically Unaccepted Phenomena
The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between the endorsement of beliefs in scientifically unaccepted phenomena and two psychological domains, namely proneness to aberrant salience and fundamental dimensions of human motivation. The project was undertaken as an online survey of 104...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SSE
2014-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Scientific Exploration |
| Online Access: | http://journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/article/view/761 |
| _version_ | 1811281625468633088 |
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| author | Harvey Jon Irwin |
| author_facet | Harvey Jon Irwin |
| author_sort | Harvey Jon Irwin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between the endorsement of beliefs in scientifically unaccepted phenomena and two psychological domains, namely proneness to aberrant salience and fundamental dimensions of human motivation. The project was undertaken as an online survey of 104 university students. “New Age” or paranormal beliefs were found to be related both to a proneness to aberrant salience and to a need for intimacy, but no such relationships were evident for traditional religious beliefs. The findings are discussed in terms of the psychological mechanisms that may underlie the development of beliefs in paranormal phenomena.
Keywords: scientifically unaccepted beliefs―aberrant salience―need for control―need for intimacy |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:36:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e57d750f4c18448490a87ee662e60477 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0892-3310 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:36:57Z |
| publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
| publisher | SSE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Scientific Exploration |
| spelling | doaj.art-e57d750f4c18448490a87ee662e604772022-12-22T03:08:21ZengSSEJournal of Scientific Exploration0892-33102014-12-01284Aberrant Salience and Motivation as Factors in the Formation of Belief in Scientifically Unaccepted PhenomenaHarvey Jon Irwin0School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences University of New England AustraliaThe aim of this study was to investigate relationships between the endorsement of beliefs in scientifically unaccepted phenomena and two psychological domains, namely proneness to aberrant salience and fundamental dimensions of human motivation. The project was undertaken as an online survey of 104 university students. “New Age” or paranormal beliefs were found to be related both to a proneness to aberrant salience and to a need for intimacy, but no such relationships were evident for traditional religious beliefs. The findings are discussed in terms of the psychological mechanisms that may underlie the development of beliefs in paranormal phenomena. Keywords: scientifically unaccepted beliefs―aberrant salience―need for control―need for intimacyhttp://journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/article/view/761 |
| spellingShingle | Harvey Jon Irwin Aberrant Salience and Motivation as Factors in the Formation of Belief in Scientifically Unaccepted Phenomena Journal of Scientific Exploration |
| title | Aberrant Salience and Motivation as Factors in the Formation of Belief in Scientifically Unaccepted Phenomena |
| title_full | Aberrant Salience and Motivation as Factors in the Formation of Belief in Scientifically Unaccepted Phenomena |
| title_fullStr | Aberrant Salience and Motivation as Factors in the Formation of Belief in Scientifically Unaccepted Phenomena |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aberrant Salience and Motivation as Factors in the Formation of Belief in Scientifically Unaccepted Phenomena |
| title_short | Aberrant Salience and Motivation as Factors in the Formation of Belief in Scientifically Unaccepted Phenomena |
| title_sort | aberrant salience and motivation as factors in the formation of belief in scientifically unaccepted phenomena |
| url | http://journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/article/view/761 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT harveyjonirwin aberrantsalienceandmotivationasfactorsintheformationofbeliefinscientificallyunacceptedphenomena |