Does Magical Thinking Bind or Separate Us? A Re-analysis of Data from Germany, India, South Korea, and Turkey

Abstract

Martha Muchow, in collaboration with Heinz Werner, developed a questionnaire to collect data on magical thinking and practices in children and adolescents in Germany in the early 1900s. Three other studies (Watzlawik & Valsiner, 2012; Massoumi, 2019; Szarata, 2019) have used an English translation of this questionnaire to collect and analyse data on magical thinking and behaviour in the USA, Germany, India, Turkey, and South Korea. Using a cultural psychology and critical cross- “cultural” approach, this study combined and re-analysed both Massoumi in Karl-Franzens-Universitaet Graz, 2019 and Szarata in Freie Universitaet Berlin, 2019 pre-coded data (N = 488) on the magical practices from four countries: Germany, India, Turkey, and South Korea. A descriptive analysis and cross-tables (chi-square) for group comparisons were performed. The study aims to compare the similarities and differences of groups in different settings on how magical practice is applied (passively or actively), the internal and external motives and influencing factors behind magical thinking and practices, and the reactions to the outcomes of magical practice. The findings show that the participants’ country of origin played a role in who used magic; how and reasons for its application; its continued use and frequency of use in adulthood; reactions to their outcomes; and the motivating factors for magic application. Participants’ sex and the religious status only played a role in who used magic, reactions to their outcomes, and motives for their use. The current study adds support to the relevance of reanalysing data from historical periods in understanding how cultural phenomena move in time and space, and discusses directions for future research.