Laut einer Studie aus 11 Ländern glauben Personen mit stärkerer Verwirrung im Kernwissen eher an das Paranormale. „Kernwissensverwirrungen“ beschreibt, wie unser Gehirn manchmal verschiedene Arten von Grundwissen verwechselt, intuitive Abkürzungen, die sich richtig anfühlen, aber nicht auf wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen basieren.
Individuals with core knowledge confusions are more likely to believe in the paranormal
3 Comments
I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019188692400240X
From the linked article:
A meta-analytic study involving over 16,000 participants from 11 countries found that individuals with stronger core knowledge confusions are more likely to believe in the paranormal. The association was particularly pronounced among participants from Finland. The research was published in Personality and Individual Differences.
The concept of core knowledge confusions, proposed by Lindeman and Aarnio, describes how our brains sometimes mix up different types of basic knowledge, leading to incorrect explanations. Our minds have evolved to handle specific tasks, such as understanding how objects move, recognizing living things, or interpreting why people act in certain ways. However, these natural ways of thinking can sometimes be misapplied. For instance, people might treat objects as if they are alive or believe that natural events occur due to invisible forces or spirits.
This confusion may also lead to beliefs in phenomena such as ghosts, magical powers, or other supernatural ideas. It occurs because our brains rely on intuitive shortcuts that feel correct but are not based on science or facts. Sometimes, individuals might attribute intentions or knowledge to inanimate objects, like stars, during their reasoning. Yet, when explicitly asked, they may clearly state they do not believe that stars have intentions. Some researchers propose that this happens because humans use two reasoning systems: one that is intuitive and automatic, employed for rapid decision-making, and another that is more deliberate and logical.
I find this to be interesting as we cannot presently prove or disprove the paranormal. I’m extending ‘paranormal’ to include religion.
Interesting as this seems to imply we are desperate and highly motivated to solve problems or mysteries, that drive outcomes in our lives. Especially if its negative outcomes.
The scientific method was developed to bring consistency to methods and predicted outcomes. The study of the universe lead to rules and the idea of everything being deterministic. Outcomes when given enough context can be predicted.
The confusion or blur between science and beliefs without evidence is very human. We have developed training to help us understand the difference. This training can be quite different between cultures, as belief systems differ greatly between social systems.
Propaganda, Psyops, politics, religion, news media all studies of this phenomenon.
The best way to live with this, is to understand it.