Believing in the Supernatural

In a scientific study at the University of Helsinki, psychology lecturer Dr Marjaana Lindeman asked university students to consider a series of statements such as "Old furniture knows things about the past" and "When summer is warm, flowers want to bloom". Lindeman's study found that some students were inclined to believe in the supernatural. The "believers" would misattribute properties of one conceptual category to another and/or would confuse cause and effect. It was also found that these students relied more on intuitive thinking than the "skeptics", but less on logical and analytical thinking than the "skeptics". - Lindeman & Aarnio, Superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs: An integrative model, Journal of Research in Personality, No.41 (2007)