The purpose of this study is to examine the concept of "magical thinking". "Magical Thinking Followers" are persons who believe in the effect of thinking. This research will contrast magical thinking to the ideas of positive psychology, construct the scale to measure it and investigate its benefits and pitfalls. With the aid of three surveys comprising data of 306 and 382 Japanese undergraduate students, a scale was developed. The scale was made of two factors: "a positive set of thinking and results," and "a negative set of thinking and results." Internal efforts of control to be positive were positively related to both of the two factors. Positive daily activities were positively related to a positive set. Dichotomous thinking was positively related to a negative set. Results implied that Magical Thinking Followers were more motivated to be positive persons partly depending on a naive dichotomous pattern of thinking mechanism.Kew words: magical thinking, magical thinking followers, efforts of being a positive person, dichotomous thinking, positive psychology
INTRODUCTIONAccording to Seligman (2002a), psychology isn't solely responsible for the study of diseases, weaknesses and damages, but also incorporates the study of human growth and behavior, i.e., strength, virtue, education, insight, love and so on. To highlight the latter, Seligman came up with a new movement of "positive psychology". Positive psychology is more than wishful thinking and self-deception but instead it tries to adapt the best scientific method for problems that human behavior presents in all its complexities (Seligman, 2002a).One of the biggest fruits of positive psychology is visible within our physical wellbeing (e.g., Danner, Snowdon, & Friesen, 2001;Fredrickson, Mancuso, Branigan, & Tugade, 2000;Moskowitz, 2003). Many studies have shown the correlation between positive beliefs and physical health. Chida and Steptoe (2008) carried out a meta-analytic method examining 70 studies and suggested that positive psychological well-being had a favorable effect on the survival of healthy and unhealthy people. The influence of positive emotions on our lives is not only seen within physical health but also impact our psychological well-being (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999;Harker & Keltner, 2001).Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Reiko Nakama, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Graduate School of Education, Hyogo University of Teacher Education, 942-1, Shimokume, Kato city, Hyogo prefecture 673-1494, Japan (e-mail: nakama@hyogo-u.ac.jp).
NAKAMA & OSHIO 180This is seen through friendship development (Waugh & Fredrickson, 2006), marital satisfaction (Harker & Keltner, 2001) and higher incomes. (Diener, Nickerson, Lucas, & Sandvik, 2002). A meta-analysis of more than 300 cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental studies supported the claim that life success not only engenders positive affect, but that positive affect also engenders life success (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005). Positive attributes such as being satisf...