In chapter 3 entitled “Why do we develop magical beliefs?” Thierry Ripoll, a researcher in cognitive psychology at the University of Aix-Marseille, discusses several interesting things.
First, he explains that human beings have difficulty coping with stressful situations over which they have no control. He adds that sometimes this stress could play a role in the establishment of magical thinking. The second thing developed in this first point shows that a great deal of research explains that magical thinking and the rituals associated with it lead to a reduction in the harmful effects of stress. Thus, according to the author, magical thinking could act as an anxiolytic.
The author then develops the idea that human beings have a constant need for meaning in their lives. Thus, magical thinking would be a simple answer to provide meaning and fulfill this need.
The next idea in this chapter concerns categorical confusion. By categorical confusion, the author means the fact of perceiving an intention, and thus a form of mental life, in a strictly physical phenomenon. For example, a wave is nothing more than billions of water molecules set in motion, it has no particular intention. These categorical confusions would be the common point of paranormal beliefs, superstitions and magic-religious beliefs. For example, believing that our thoughts can have a direct effect on matter is a result of categorical confusion. To think that certain amulets have the ability to give happiness implies that physical objects have mental powers and this also results from a categorical confusion.
Finally, the last idea in this chapter discusses the two systems of thought that coexist in humans. The first one, the intuitive thinking system, is fast, uses memory and our past experiences. It requires few cognitive resources and can therefore be activated without effort. It is automatic and involves little of our logical reasoning abilities. It is very sensitive to the emotional dimension and not very sensitive to objective arguments. The second, the analytical thinking system, is slow and does not activate automatically. Its activation is costly and requires a very important cognitive effort. It is acquired through education and generally develops along with the level of education. For the author, the intuitive system is involved in the creation of beliefs.
The author concludes by explaining that school and university learning aims to develop the analytical system by training students to distrust their intuitions. This is probably why scientific studies play an important role in renouncing magical or religious beliefs.