http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/deadliest-catch-sig-on-superstitions.html
Capt. Sig Hansen from Discovery Channel's "Deadliest
Catch," discusses the superstitions of fisherman at sea. It's pretty
incredible how superstitious they really are. He talks about all kinds
of weird things he has become accustomed to that have come a part of
his life. He realizes that these are just associations that elicit a
rewarding feeling of safety and probably bring him no real good fortune
(even though there are some that say you create your own luck), but as
he states in the video, he will even go as far as turning the boat
around to satisfy this target behavior of his. These superstitous items
allow Sig to emit behaviors such as comfort and joy as bad luck or
misfortune while fishing at sea would prove aversive to him and his
crew. As he states, they have been raised or conditioned to behave this
way--whether it's not allowing bananas or horseshoes on the boat or
stepping onto a boat with the correct foot. At some point during their
adventures or experiences, Sig must have been positively reinforced
(perhaps by catching more fish)and associated this behavior with some
material object (like his erasors, post-its, or a fishing lure
necklace). As he states, they have been conditioned as time passes to
check for these superstitions and if everything is not in place,
psychological hell breaks loose on the boat. Here is a good example from the clip to explain why the shipmen were motivated to continuously behave the superstitious way they do:
The antecedent would be the previously demonstrated superstitious behavior of fishing at sea without allowing any suitcases on board
Thus, their behavior-->which was to force the Discovery Channel crew to unpack their cameras and leave their suitcases on land
As a consequence of their positive experience at sea (no misfortune) Capt. Sig and crew are reinforced for their superstitious behaviors of not allowing suitcases aboard. Thus superstition remains unbroken, actually reinforced, and conditions same behavior to be repeated.
In a sense, these superstitious behaviors give them a sense of control over their otherwise uncontrollable environment. Mentally, Capt. Sig and crew need these objects to satisfy their emotional needs as well as physiological needs (such as cortisol/stress), as the superstitions/charms act as a coping mechanism/calming effect.
The article below is an interesting article which argues that superstitions might actually have a natural evolutionary bias towards superstitions which help our survival:
"Hood claimed that superstition is a product of evolution, having evolved as a way of generating theories about the way things work when they cannot easily be seen or proved. It helps us adapt and stay safe, as well as providing a welcome sense of control. In the modern era, we know that some beliefs are really just nonsense, but the foundations of science itself were built on mankind's ability to reason intuitively."
http://psychcentral.com/lib/2008/do-we-have-a-natural-bias-toward-superstitions/
What do you guys think of superstitions? What are some that you have?
When I think about my own personal superstitions, I don't feel like I have a lot, however, I always seem to think of my grandma because she is very superstitious. She believes bad luck will come your way from a black cat crossing your path, and its not good to stay in a house where someone has passed away. If the broom falls down it means someone is coming to visit your home, and don't put shoes on a table because it means someone will die. I'm not sure how much I believe in these, however, I know that I did break a mirror this last summer, and well I don't feel like I have been on a streak of bad luck.
On another note, I watched your link for the Deadliest Catch, an when Sig said something about over time you have to check for the little things that have to be in place, and if they are not there you will lose your mind. This made me think about two things: 1) the subject of autonomy we had talked about in class today. It almost seems as if those who believe in superstitions were once autonomous in their decision to believe in the superstition, however, over time, it turned into a controlling environment, it has to be a certain way. 2)I wondered about the relationship between OCD and Superstitions, just because Sig said that they have to follow these superstitions they have.
In the article, "Culture and psychopathology: supersition and obsessive-compulsive cognitions and symptoms in a non-clinical Italian sample" Sica, C., Novara, C., & Sanavio, E. (2001) found that people who are superstitious might suffered from some psychopathology due to lack of control over life events. Findings also stated that superstitions could be self perpetuating, and that the more an individual behaves according to the superstitious behaviors, the more they feel real danger exists. The article also mentioned that superstitions are considered equivalent to ineffective coping strategies for people diagnosed with OCD.
It appears that there is a relationship between people diagnosed with OCD and superstitions, and from what I gathered, it is not a good one. It seems that superstitions could exacerbate OCD cognitions and symptoms, and could develop maladaptive behaviors as well. However, I don't think there is a need to worry about those who only have a few superstitions that they follow.
Overall I think your post was very interesting, and thanks for sharing!