Superstitiousness of university students majoring in arts and its role in their professional development

Abstract

The study addresses peculiarities of superstitiousness and paranormal beliefs of students majoring in Arts (creative type of professions) and its role in their professional development. Superstitiousness is a rather wide-spread phenomenon among different professional groups. Besides there is scientific evidence that students are a socio-demographic group with high level of superstitiousness. There exist two general points of view on superstitiousness as a psychological phenomenon: negative and coping. Creative activity in general and creative professions in particular are characterized by high uncertainty and unpredictability of its outcomes, therefore it was logic to suppose that future creative professionals would be highly superstitious. Besides constant search for innovative solutions and Art itself focuses on irrational aspects of being. Empiric study however showed average and low level of superstitiousness among Arts students, but significant correlations between superstitiousness, paranormal beliefs and personality traits. Differences between various creative professions were also found. The findings may be used for the future studies and applied in the educational practice.