Scholarly Sources:
- Chinchanachokchai, Syndey, Pusaksrikit, Theeranuch, Pongsakornrungsilp, Siwarit. “Exploring Different Types of Superstitious Beliefs in Risk-Taking Behaviors: What We Can Learn From Thai Consumers” sage journals. October 5th, 2016. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1524500416672439Accessed March 9th, 2020.
Description: This scholarly source describes the link between superstition and risk taking.
This paper was quite fascinating to me because I feel like I never really thought how far into the real world, superstitions extend to. They spent some of the paper on how superstitious people may be associated with taking higher risk and in general be considered to be higher risk takers. This also extends to groups of people who like to gamble and feel like they have a certain superstition that perhaps makes them win a hand more often than not, or playing a certain set of numbers for example. I never really thought of it in this sense, however I feel like I learnt something new that is not talking about the same severity of consequences that a hockey superstition may have.
2. Lack, Caleb W. “Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Evidence-based treatments and future directions for research” National Center for Biotechnology Information. December 22nd, 2012. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3782190/ Accessed March 9th, 2020.
Description: This scholarly source defines what an OCD is, and it talks about plausible treatments and future research.
At the start of my research I was really hoping to find a proper and concrete definition of what exactly an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is and to see how it may differ or relate towards my topic with regards to superstition, and going even further, to decipher whether a superstition is just an OCD. After reading this research paper, I can say that an OCD is not a superstition but rather a serious health problem, that requires proper treatment. I’m glad to have discovered this bit and may mention it in my feature story briefly.
Non-Scholarly Sources:
3. Blackwell, Liam. “The Power of Superstitions and Rituals In Sport” believeperform. 2010. https://believeperform.com/the-power-of-superstitions-and-rituals-in-sport/ Accessed March 9th, 2020.
Description: Talks about rituals vs. superstitions in sports.
This article was probably one of the most useful to me because it really showed the difference between a superstition and a ritual, because I would often use them almost interchangeably and that is extremely wrong. A superstition is more of something that is followed as a product of a favorable result, for example: let’s say I wore a pink shirt to a test and got 90, next test I will also wear a pink shirt. Whereas a ritual is more just simply a certain routine they follow in order for them to succeed at playing their best.
4. Chater, Nick. “Why most people follow routines” The Conversation. August 16th, 2018 http://theconversation.com/why-most-people-follow-routines-101630 Accessed March 9th, 2020.
Description: Talks about why we follow routines and the reason it’s good to follow some.
It was interesting to hear the reasoning for why some people follow a specific routine, and they gave the reason that it minimizes having to make a sometimes-troubling decision. They even quoted Barack Obama, and he said that even choosing a suit was difficult and so he made it a point to have a collection of the exact same suits. This was kind of interesting to me because I never really thought about how difficult it could really be to choose something as simple as outfit. After having read this I wondered whether this were part of a superstition.
Cultural/Artistic Artifacts:
5. Father Ben Sawyer, pastor of Christ the King Church in Wichita,Kan.,celebrates a daily Mass. (CNS photo/Christopher M. Riggs, Catholic Advance)
This, as discussed later, was inspired from the librarian who inspired me to speak about religion as a bigger picture because of how many traditions and rituals they have. The similarities were shocking between the two and I found countless articles comparing the two. I’m not sure this is exactly the exact same as a superstition however and perhaps leans more towards the side of a tradition or rituals. In the end however, I think things like giving the body of Christ, exchanging peace with people next to you, are some examples the catholic church has to offer in terms of some of the routines and traditions.
Experimental Research:
6. A friend’s routine prior to a test.
I have one friend who has come out to me and told me he has particular superstitions on a big test day. He told me that he wears the exact same pants and hoodie when he writes his tests because he believes it is good luck and wears this combo whenever he has an exam. He doesn’t think he’ll do bad when he doesn’t wear these clothes, however he might feel a little less comfortable or prepared when he doesn’t wear them. I was thinking of relating my story to the real world and I think that schooling is an obvious one that seems pretty significant. I’m also considering interviewing him to get more insight on his choice of lucky outfit.
Library Visit:
I went to Dawson’s Library and spoke to the librarian named Stav Victoratos. I was having trouble finding a bigger picture idea for the artistic artifact/culture source and so I asked her for some help on the topic. She gave me a really good idea, with regards to religion and how it is somewhat similar to superstitions and traditions. I really liked this bigger picture idea and decided to use it in one of my sources for that particular section. I found her to be quite helpful as she helped me find one of my sources and just gave me a general opinion about my topic.
Luca Caprio 