PSY 406 ( Psychology of Beliefs) Beliefs are among the most primitive and central of mental constructs, and yet there is little agreement as to what they are or how they should be construed. They are basic to our understanding of a wide range of central phenomena in modern psychology. For example our beliefs are key components of our personalities and senses of identity, and our expressions of beliefs often define us to others. Many of our reactions to others are based on our beliefs and our perceptions of theirs, and it is impossible to understand racism, prejudice, religious and national conflicts without considering disagreement in basic belief systems. We join many groups because we believe the group will support our beliefs, and our participation in groups changes many of our beliefs. We seek psychotherapy in our effort to change our beliefs about self and the things we hold dear. Our political and religious beliefs are central to many of us. Many of our behaviors, mundane and consequential, are affected by what we believe. And on it goes. There are many ways to approach the study of beliefs. The way which we will use is to focus on problematic beliefs, sometimes called anomalous or bizarre beliefs. Examples are beliefs in ESP and the paranormal, astrology, the reality of events that could not possibly have occurred, scientific theories and medical cures that are rejected by most experts, to extreme religious and political ideas. At the same time we recognize that a few beliefs that seem bizarre at one time become perfectly normal later. Most of our beliefs are essentially unproblematic in the sense that we do not question them or worry much about their validity. In fact huge numbers of our beliefs seem so grounded in reality or so much a part of our culture that it seems silly to question them and an empty academic exercise to seek their sources. On the other hand, most of us, at least when we are being thoughtful, recognize that other of our beliefs may have fragile contact indeed with any known larger reality. Furthermore people hold anomalous beliefs with as much conviction as we hold our unproblematic beliefs, and they often turn the tables on us by suggesting that we are the people who are of touch with reality. By studying such beliefs and the reasons for them, perhaps we can learn more about our own.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 11:48:11 +0000
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