Bewitchment, Biology, or Both
The Co‐Existence of Natural and Supernatural Explanatory Frameworks Across Development
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23372605 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cristine H Legare (0000-0002-7838-4396, University of Michigan, corresponding author), A Gelman (0000-0003-1005-2691, University of Michigan), Susan A Gelman |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 607-642 |
| Publication date | 2008-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cognitive Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0364-0213 • E-ISSN: 1551-6709 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03640210802066766 |
| PMID | 21635349 |
| OpenAlex | W2114831439 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 75 |
| References cited | 35 |
Three studies examined the co‐existence of natural and supernatural explanations for illness and disease transmission, from a developmental perspective. The participants (5‐, 7‐, 11‐, and 15‐year‐olds and adults; N = 366) were drawn from 2 Sesotho‐speaking South African communities, where Western biomedical and traditional healing frameworks were both available. Results indicated that, although biological explanations for illness were endorsed at high levels, witchcraft was also often endorsed. More important, bewitchment explanations were neither the result of ignorance nor replaced by biological explanations. Instead, both natural and supernatural explanations were used to explain the same phenomena, and bewitchment explanations were highest among adults. Taken together, these data provide insight into how diverse, culturally constructed belief systems about illness co‐exist across development.
Archaeology · Developmental psychology · Epistemology · Ignorance · Natural (archaeology) · Perspective (graphical) · Child and Animal Learning Development · Education and Critical Thinking Development · Families in Therapy and Culture · History · Philosophy · Psychology
From Charitable Inference to Active Credence
The Faith Frame
Supernatural Belief in ‘Scientific’ Worldviews
Causal Reasoning about Illnesses and Remedies by Puerto Rican Parents Living in the United States
South African Children's Understanding of Aids and Flu
Native Ontological Framework Guides Causal Reasoning
Picasso Paintings, Moon Rocks, and Hand-Written Beatles Lyrics
Developmental Changes in the Use of Supernatural Explanations for Unusual Events
When a good god makes bad people
Between Religion and Science
She bought the unicorn from the pet store
Explaining and Solving Practical Problems Supernaturally
Religious credence is not factual belief
Beyond “Monologicality”? Exploring Conspiracist Worldviews
The cultural evolution of shamanism
Scientific knowledge suppresses but does not supplant earlier intuitions
Learning from Others
Perspectives on Culture and Concepts
Supernatural Beliefs-Based Intervention to Improve Type-2 Diabetes Self-Management
Mental Models of Illness during the Early Months of the Covid-19 Pandemic
Individueller religiöser Pluralismus – Perspektiven für kulturpsychologische Forschung
Searching for the Big Pictures
The cultural evolution of witchcraft beliefs
Supernatural beliefs encode knowledge about malaria but inhibit uptake of biomedical interventions among Siberut Mentawai
Conflicting Views of Nature and Their Impact on Evolution Understanding
Tempering the tension between science and intuition
The roles of switching and inhibition in adult counterintuitive scientific thinking
“It kinda has like a mind”
From “haves” to “have nots”
Science demands explanation, religion tolerates mystery
Children's moral evaluations of and behaviors toward people who are curious about religion and science
Infection detection in faces
Young children’s ability to make predictions about novel illnesses
Development of Implicit Links Between Effort, Pain, and Recovery
The social aspects of illness
Embracing Death
Whitewashing Nature
Beliefs About Religious and Scientific Entities Among Parents and Children in Iran
Cognitive Biases and Religious Belief
Children’s Beliefs about Miracles
Cultural Differences in Children’s Ecological Reasoning and Psychological Closeness to Nature
Representing and coordinating ethnobiological knowledge
Content Matters
Overlapping Mental Magisteria
Skepticism
Expert–novice differences in mental models of viruses, vaccines, and the causes of infectious disease
When Worlds Collide – Or Do They? Implications of Explanatory Coexistence for Conceptual Development and Change
Exploring Witchcraft, Sorcery and Bewitchment Beliefs, and Social Work Responses Among Street Children in Zimbabwe
Healthy Skepticism
The Cultural Fabric of Human Causal Cognition
God, Church water and spirituality
A Sense of Continuity in Mortality? Exploring Science-Oriented Finns’ Views on Afterdeath
Long-lost Brothers
The Coexistence of Natural and Supernatural Explanations Across Cultures and Development
Supernatural beliefs, religious affiliations, and HIV testing among recently arrived Asian-born men who have sex with men in Australia
Narratives of Externality, Oppression, and Agency
The notion of dyadic morality explains the logic of Zande witchcraft
Meant to be”
Is religion just make-believe, or only for some Weird people
The role of testimony in the evaluation of religious expertise
God, witchcraft, and beliefs about illness in Mauritius
Religious people view both science and religion as less epistemically valuable than non-religious people view science
Picturing safety and danger
Children’s understanding of the causal mechanisms underlying disease prevention
Differences by social category in illness susceptibility
Fragmented and conflicted
Faith and science mindsets as predictors of Covid-19 concern
When deserving translates into causing
Dialogicality and Conspiracy Theory
Perspectives of university health care students on mental health stigma in Nigeria
Modelos de inmunidad en estudiantes universitarios
Witchcraft, Envy, and Norm Enforcement in Mauritius
How Lay Cognition Constrains Scientific Cognition
Magic, Explanations, and Evil
Concepts and Folk Theories
Conceptualizing a Nonnatural Entity
Trust in Testimony
Cognitive Development
Cognitive and Contextual Factors in the Emergence of Diverse Belief Systems
Witchcraft, Violence, and Democracy in South Africa
Magical Interpretations, Material Realities
The young, the rich, and the beautiful
Young children's psychological, physical, and biological explanations
Children's Acceptance of Conflicting Testimony
A Cross-Cultural Developmental Analysis of Children's and Adults' Understanding of Illness in South Asia (India) and the United States
Health Beliefs of a Sample of Black Patients Attending a Specialized Medical Facility
The emergence of children's causal explanations and theories
African Systems of Thought
Explanation and Understanding
Understanding Mortality and the Life of the Ancestors in Rural Madagascar
Children's recognition of time in the causes and cures of physical and emotional reactions to illnesses and injuries
Indigenous Theories of Contagious Disease
An Epidemic of Witchcraft? The Implications of Aids for the Post-Apartheid State
| Unique citing works | 75 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4,41 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2026 (18) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 64 |