Magical thinking: causes, functions and examples

This reasoning is typical in childhood or under the effect of suggestion or disorders.

Magical thinking has accompanied mankind since the beginning of time. We have a natural tendency to establish cause and effect relationships without checking them logically; this predisposition is very marked in infancy and is maintained if the context in which we find ourselves promotes it, as has happened in many cultures.

In this article we will define magical thinking and explain its causes and functions, according to the existing literature.according to the existing literature. Finally, we will present some significant examples and contexts in which this type of reasoning appears habitually.

What is magical thinking?

The concept of "magical thinking" is used in psychology and anthropology to describe illogical attributions of causality that are made without empirical evidence, especially when the person believes that his or her thoughts can have consequences in the external world, either by his or her own action or by theIt is used in psychology and anthropology to describe illogical attributions of causality that are made without empirical evidence, especially when the person believes that his or her thoughts can have consequences in the external world, either by his or her own action or by the intermediation of supernatural forces.

Magical thinking is present in the vast majority of the world's cultures. It is a natural process, probably with a Biological basis similar to that of classical conditioning, by which we rely on the similarity or similarity of our own thoughts. similarity, or temporal or spatial contiguity, between elements, for example, to establish between elements, for example, to establish an unprovable causal relationship between them.

Thus, a girl who believes that if she misbehaves the bogeyman will kidnap her is falling into this logical error. The same happens with tribes that perform ritual dances to invoke rain or with people who think that their wishes will be fulfilled if they light a candle and entrust themselves to a certain saint.

The belief that the mind has power over matter, as if it constituted an entity.The belief that the mind has power over matter, as if it were a separate entity rather than a consequence of matter, may underlie many cases of magical thinking. However, it is a concept with a very broad meaning, so it has been used to refer to very diverse processes.

Causes and functions.

Magical thinking has been attributed mainly to two facts: the contiguity between events (e.g. "My father died because I wished him dead the day before") and associative thinking, which consists of establishing relationships based on similarities. For example, the Mapuche believed that they would obtain the strength of their enemies if they ate their hearts.

Authors such as Claude Lévi-Strauss and Thomas Markle have affirmed that magical thinking has adaptive functions in certain circumstances. has adaptive functions in certain circumstances. However, when it comes to attributing causes, this type of reasoning tends to fail much more frequently than that based on empirical evidence.

One of the main functions of magical thinking is the reduction of anxiety. When people find themselves in a stressful situation that they cannot resolve, it is easier for them to associate anxiety reduction with arbitrary elements in order to gain some sense of control. For example, in agoraphobia, the use of "amulets" is common.

Even in today's world, in which we believe logic predominates, magical thinking continues to have a presence, magical thinking continues to have a significant presence and sometimes it is even useful. A good example is the placebo effect, whereby the very fact of believing that a false remedy will be useful in curing an illness causes an improvement in symptoms.

Examples of magical thinking

We can find examples of magical thinking in a large number of everyday situations, although in some cases this type of reasoning can be a sign of pathology, particularly when the beliefs occur in adulthood and are not shared by the environment.

1. Infantile Egocentrism

Between the ages of 2 and 7 years, during the pre-operational stage described by Piaget, children believe that they can modify elements of their environment.children believe that they can modify elements of the world with their minds, either voluntarily or involuntarily. At this age, thinking is characterized by difficulty in understanding abstract concepts and by egocentrism, or inability to adopt the perspective of others.

These types of ideas appear most commonly when the death of a loved one occurs; in these cases children tend to believe that they were somehow to blame. However, arbitrary causal attributions and illogical thinking in general, favored by the lack of understanding of the world, are very typical in childhood.

Magical thinking is very common in children because it is consubstantial to human nature. As cognitive development progresses, the frequency of this type of the frequency of this type of thinking becomes less frequent.If this is not the case, magical beliefs can be transmitted from generation to generation.

2. Superstition and supernatural thinking

Superstitions are beliefs without logical foundation or scientific proof. They are a type of magical thinking, although it is difficult to delineate what exactly constitutes a superstition; for example, religions do not tend to be seen as superstitions, even though the only distinguishing even though the only distinguishing criterion is that they are shared by many people.

As with magical thinking in general, superstitions are more common when people are in stressful situations. Thus, it is typical for those who do not firmly believe in the existence of gods but do not completely rule them out to try to communicate with them when they are desperate.

Some superstitions and supernatural ideas are transmitted through culture. This has happened with countless myths throughout history, and it is also common for children to be led to believe that Santa Claus, the Three Wise Men or the Tooth Fairy exist. Constructs such as destiny and karma are also good examples of magical thinking.

3. Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Sometimes the rituals characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be classified as magical thinking. This is most often the case when the person is either unaware that he or she has a disorder or exaggerates the realism of his or her beliefs.

In particular, people with OCD often believe, or at least fear, that they are fear that disproportionately serious misfortune disproportionately serious if they do not perform the ritual; for example, someone with the disorder might think that if they drop a lit cigarette butt on the carpet, their entire floor will burn down in a matter of seconds.

4. Delusions and psychosis

Magical thinking often appears in delusions, whether or not they occur in the context of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder. While in delusional disorder irrational beliefs tend to have a relatively credible structure, in the case of schizotypal disorder and, above all, paranoid schizophrenia beliefs are more outlandish.