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Paranormal Belief as a Psychological Coping Mechanism |
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Society for Psychical Research |
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Abstract |
Psychodynamic depictions of the functions of paranormal belief imply that such belief may serve as a psychological coping mechanism. The relation between the intensity of paranormal beliefs and three global coping styles was investigated in a sample of Australian adults. Canonical correlation analysis revealed a weak relationship between global paranormal belief and the combination of avoidant coping and a lack of task-oriented coping. The findings are interpreted to suggest that the activation of paranormal beliefs either serves only a minor role as a coping technique or is a relatively specialized adaptive response to a particular class of perceived threat to the person's psychological well-being. |
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Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 67.3(872), p. 200-207 |
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