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Children's magical beliefs: A report on recent studies in developmental psychology

Children's magical beliefs: A report on recent studies in developmental psychology Children's magical beliefs: A report on recent studies in developmental psychology ANDRA ELKSNIS and MYRA SZACHARA The study of religion has a double focus: religious thought and religious prac- tice, as well as their relation. Part of the study of religious thought, therefore, must attend to the psychology of thought processes. It may at first appear to anyone familiar with the types of analyses which engage the attention of de- velopmental psychologists that the elementary operations to which they refer are far removed from the types of complex and elaborate theories capable of describing the mental life of adult religious participants. However, as we will show, current studies in developmental psychology imply that there is a closer link between the types of basic operations which place a child in a designated developmentally distinct stage, and the particular form of detailed religious thought than has been previously supposed. Further, this research may suggest that the analysis of religious thought should not be evaluated as distinct from everyday conceptions but as part of the larger framework of human thought processes. One facet of developmental psychology is to study children as an end in itself. That is, the aim of many http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Method & Theory in the Study of Religion Brill

Children's magical beliefs: A report on recent studies in developmental psychology

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1996 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0943-3058
eISSN
1570-0682
DOI
10.1163/157006896X00198
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Children's magical beliefs: A report on recent studies in developmental psychology ANDRA ELKSNIS and MYRA SZACHARA The study of religion has a double focus: religious thought and religious prac- tice, as well as their relation. Part of the study of religious thought, therefore, must attend to the psychology of thought processes. It may at first appear to anyone familiar with the types of analyses which engage the attention of de- velopmental psychologists that the elementary operations to which they refer are far removed from the types of complex and elaborate theories capable of describing the mental life of adult religious participants. However, as we will show, current studies in developmental psychology imply that there is a closer link between the types of basic operations which place a child in a designated developmentally distinct stage, and the particular form of detailed religious thought than has been previously supposed. Further, this research may suggest that the analysis of religious thought should not be evaluated as distinct from everyday conceptions but as part of the larger framework of human thought processes. One facet of developmental psychology is to study children as an end in itself. That is, the aim of many

Journal

Method & Theory in the Study of Religion – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 1996

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