The role of personality in having a ghost experience and the role of personality and experience in the development of ghost belief

Langston, William; Hubbard, Tyler; Fehrman, Christof; D'Archangel, Micah; Anderson, Kevin

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110077

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…However, a recent study found that a factor reflecting beliefs in ghosts/spirits and reincarnation, as well as a factor reflecting beliefs in God and the devil, related positively to a lower order aspect of openness encompassing fantasy and imagination but not another aspect encompassing intellectual quickness and ingenuity (Chauvin & Mullet, 2018). Another study showed that engagement with ghosts (i.e., beliefs and experiences) related to openness (Langston et al, 2020) The large body of research linking r/s engagement (i.e., overall religiosity and/or spirituality) to the Big 5 (for reviews, see Rose and Exline, 2012;Saroglou, 2017; is relevant here. Because r/s traditions contain teachings about supernatural entities, it is likely traits linked to r/s engagement will also be linked to engagement with supernatural entities.…”

Section: Big 5 Traitsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…We assessed only the unusual experiences component because it is the only component that seems theoretically relevant to supernatural engagement. There is some evidence linking the intense and unusual perceptions of schizotypy to supernatural engagement, including higher probability of reporting a "spiritual, religious, supernatural, or paranormal" event (Barnes & Gibson, 2013), beliefs in spirits and supernatural agents (Irwin & Watt, 2007), beliefs in various paranormal phenomena (e.g., Wolfradt et al, 1999), and engagement with ghosts specifically (Langston et al, 2020).…”

Section: Cognitive Stylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Predicting Engagement With Supernatural Entitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Who Engages with Supernatural Entities? An Investigation of Personality and Cognitive Style Predictors

Stauner

May

Fincham

et al. 2021

Imagination, Cognition and Personality

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We tested preregistered hypotheses (a) examining the structure of supernatural beliefs and perceived experiences and (b) predicting supernatural engagement from the Big Five and cognitive styles. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of self-report data in the U.S. undergraduates (Study 1: n = 1,401; Study 2: n = 1,939) showed that beliefs and perceived experiences were characterized by two factors. Positive and Negative Agents factors related strongly to religious belief salience and were defined by God, the devil, angels, demons, and ghosts/spirits, whereas Forces and Spirits factors were unrelated to religious belief salience and were defined by fate/destiny, karma, and ghosts/spirits. Extraversion, conscientiousness, experiential processing, schizotypy, and dissociative tendencies related positively to supernatural engagement. With some nuances, agreeableness, neuroticism, and need for closure were positive predictors, whereas skepticism and analytical-rational processing were negative predictors. Openness and intellectual humility did not relate positively to supernatural engagement, contradicting expectations. Because the literature on individual differences predictors of supernatural engagement is not well integrated, these results may contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of this topic.

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Section: Big 5 Traitsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Cognitive Stylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Predicting Engagement With Supernatural Entitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Who Engages with Supernatural Entities? An Investigation of Personality and Cognitive Style Predictors

Stauner

May

Fincham

et al. 2021

Imagination, Cognition and Personality

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The blessing will ensure that the person can continue to take care of the widow or orphan very well. Blessings from a ghost comes in the form of good employment, success in one's business ventures, achievement of academic success etc (Yang et al, 2008;Langston et al, 2020;Adom, 2019;Addaney et al, 2022).…”

Section: Akans Fear Of Ghostsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beliefs about ghosts among the Akan of Ghana

Adinkrah

2023

ijllc

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As a thanatologist who specializes in mortuary beliefs and rites in Ghana, I frequently come across information on Akan cultural beliefs about ghosts, as well as individual or personal stories of ghost encounters. Yet, there has been virtually no academic inquiry into the topic. Between January and February 2015, I listened to four consecutive weekly radio programs focusing primarily on ghosts on a commercial radio station in Ghana. The programs were broadcast in Twi, the Akan lingua franca, which the author is fluent in. Following extensive discussions about Akan cultural beliefs regarding ghosts and other superhuman entities by the host and co-hosts of the program, listeners were invited to share their personal stories about ghost sightings and other encounters with ghosts. The current article presents a narrative of the discussion that occurred on the four featured programs. The data show that Akans of Ghana maintain a strong cultural belief in ghosts. Several listeners shared with the host and listeners their personal encounters with ghosts and ghost activities.

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Supernatural Attributions: Seeing God, the Devil, Demons, Spirits, Fate, and Karma as Causes of Events

Exline

Wilt

2023

Annual Review of Clinical Psychology

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For many people worldwide, supernatural beliefs and attributions—those focused on God, the devil, demons, spirits, an afterlife, karma, or fate—are part of everyday life. Although not widely studied in clinical psychology, these beliefs and attributions are a key part of human diversity. This article provides a broad overview of research on supernatural beliefs and attributions with special attention to their psychological relevance: They can serve as coping resources, sources of distress, psychopathology signals, moral guides, and decision-making tools. Although supernatural attributions sometimes involve dramatic experiences seen to violate natural laws, people more commonly think of supernatural entities working indirectly through natural events. A whole host of factors can lead people to make supernatural attributions, including contextual factors, specific beliefs, psychopathology, cognitive styles and personality, and social and cultural influences. Our aim is to provide clinical psychologists with an entry point into this rich, fascinating, and often overlooked literature. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, Volume 19 is May 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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The role of personality in having a ghost experience and the role of personality and experience in the development of ghost belief

Cited by 3 publications

References 26 publications

Who Engages with Supernatural Entities? An Investigation of Personality and Cognitive Style Predictors

Who Engages with Supernatural Entities? An Investigation of Personality and Cognitive Style Predictors

Beliefs about ghosts among the Akan of Ghana

Supernatural Attributions: Seeing God, the Devil, Demons, Spirits, Fate, and Karma as Causes of Events

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