Sociology Final Project
By: Nichole Moody
Question
Question: How do superstitions impact people?
Superstitions impact people in different way, it really just depends on how seriously the person takes there superstitions. Some people just don't believe in superstitions because they think it has no rational justification. Some people follow superstitions just for the fun of it, or simply because it's what everybody else is doing, and they don't really believe in it. Then there's the people who deeply believe in there superstitions, and tend to take them too seriously. They become almost totally dominated by traditional superstitions in daily affair of life.
Background Research
Background Research: What are some superstitions that people have?
There are also countries who superstitions that they must follow within there everyday lives, and these are superstitions that everybody follows.
- In Brazil it is bad luck to drop your wallet, because it means you'll lose money.
- In China the word four is unlucky, because the pronunciation is too close to the word death.
- In South Korea running in a fan in closed room while your sleeping can kill you.
- In Lithuania whistling indoor will call demons to come and kill you
- In the Phillipines sun-showers are believed to signify the wedding between two demon horses.
- In the United States houses in the 19th were built with slanted windows because it was believed that witches couldn't fly through slanted windows on there brooms.
Theses are just a select few of the superstitions that people believe in the around the world. There are many more, you could probably go ahead and look them up if you want to, some of them are really interesting.
Background Research: Why do people believe in superstitions?
Some people believe it's because the people who believe in superstitions are insecure. Courage is a rare personality trait, the courage to believe that you are responsible for whatever happens in your life. Most people choose to believe in superstitions because it gives them a way to blame the bad things in life on something else, other than there faults in life. They can say it was just bad luck, and move on, instead of actually taking the blame for it themselves.
Background Research: OCD vs. Superstition
OCD is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that make them feel driven to do something.
A superstition is considered a belief or a practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation.
I believe there is a thin line that can be drawn between OCD and Superstition and it's very easy to cross when superstitions are taken too far by some people. Especially when they can't live without following there superstitions, and they don't know what do with themselves if they don't follow there superstitions. It's just up to you determine when you've crossed that line, and when you haven't.
Hypothesis
My Hypothesis
Test Your Hypothesis
My Expirement
I asked people the people who did answer what they would did if they didn't follow there superstitions, and they said that it didn't really matter. Just that they didn't because there family did it, and they'd grown up doing it. Along with all there friends did it as well so they were surrounded with people doing it. Some people said that they grew up hearing it, and so it kind of just stuck. So that's what they listened too.
Draw A Conclusion
Conclusion
Plus the people who were taught to follow superstitions from a young age, that's what they grew up being told. So it kind of just stuck inside there head. So I guess that's what they're going to believe, cause that's what they grew up believing.