Monday, December 10, 2012

HW10: Chapter 3: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

SUMMARY
         This paper attempted to determine the effects those superstition have on daily lives of Filipinos. 
         This research design used in this study is the descriptive research method wherein data from documents and interviews were used to answer the research question posed. The research findings are the following:
1.) Superstition is an irrational belief resulting from ignorance or fear of the unknown. It characterized omens, charms, etc.
2.) Superstition is based on belief in the power of magic and witch crafts in such forces as spirits and demons.
3.) Some superstition provides miracles, revelations, magic or what we called supernatural beliefs
4.) The effects of superstition can be based on foolish behavior, bad decision, or can be an anxiety of one person because they believe and rely on superstitious belief.
5.) Superstitious beliefs can be bad-luck superstition or good/luck superstition. Bad luck superstition like spilling salt, walking under the ladder, and Friday the 13th. While good luck superstition are like charms, and crossing the fingers. 

CONCLUSIONS
        Based on the finding of the study, the following conclusions are drawn:
1.) Many people especially Filipinos believe in bad luck superstition and they are very afraid of most of it. They are always rely and believe in superstitious beliefs.
2.) The anxiety, the bad decision are can be the effect of superstition in the daily lives of Filipinos. Charms and crossing the finger are people used to prevent the bad things that might their encounter.

RECOMMENDATIONS
       After drawing the conclusion of the study, the researchers hereby make the following suggestions/recommendations:
1.) In analyzing the effects of superstition, it is better to have a highlights in every types of superstition so that the people will determine and focus in every types of it.
2.) Experts, and other people must research more than the effects of superstition not only to the Filipino cultures but rather to other cultures, so that some possible future experts can help them to give more sources about superstitious beliefs. 

REFERENCES: 
A: Electronic Media

" Superstitious Beliefs" from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition

 Worobec, Mary. Experts of superstition from http://voices.yahoo.com/who-believes-superstition-108531.html?cat=7

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201205/our-superstitious-minds-the-7-laws-magical-thinking?page=2

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Superstitious+belief 

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Superstitious+belief 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/miracle
 
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philosophy 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychological
  


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

HW9: Superstition, Anxiety or Rituals? (article4)

             To understand more what is superstition let's define it. Superstition are not all rituals and beliefs. "The dividing line is whether you give some kind of magical significance to the rituals," Stuart Vyse, tells us. For example, if an athlete develops a ritual before a game, something says many coaches encourage, it may help to calm and focus him or her like repeating a mantra. . On the other hand, he says if you think tapping the ball a certain number of times makes you win the game, you've entered superstitious territory. Maybe, wondering a certain superstitious behaviors such as like counting the number of times you tap a ball are really a sign of obsessive compulsive disoreder (OCD). People with OCD often have compulsions to do rituals over and over again, often interfering with everyday life. A good example is Jack Nicholson, character in the movie As Good As It Gets, who skips cracks in the sidewalk and eats at the same table in the same restaurant every day, with an inability to cope with any change in routine. While some of the symptoms of OCD can mimic superstitious behavior. 
         
      Based on Vyse, "We don't think of anxiety disorders (such as OCD) as superstitious thinking. We think of it as irrational thinking, and most of our patients understand that,".  An anxiety expert from Burlington,  said that have patients that tell us that they believe that if they don't worry about something, then the likelihood of it happening will go up, and that is a superstitious thought," he says. 

       The key of this article is to pay attention to your own thinking, particularly if you experience any symptoms of anxiety like tension, excessive worry, trouble sleeping, obsessive thoughts and exhaustion. If someone experience these symptoms or find that you have repetitive ritualized behavior that's out of control and  superstitious or not  get professional help from a doctor or therapist.

HW8: The Psychology of Superstition (Article3)

      Is magical thinking hurting or helping you? This are one some questions that bothers us in our mind. We always think that magical or miracles are might be happen in to our lives, but it is only our imagination that can't be happen. If you're like most people, you occasionally participate in superstitious thinking or behavior often without even realizing you're doing it. Where is the last time you knock on the wood, walked within the lines, avoided a black cat on a street and lastly read your daily horoscope? People can't deny that they doing like this superstition especially when they are very superstitious. According to a recent Gallup Poll, more than half of Americans admitted to being at least a little superstitious. Addition to that, beliefs in witches, ghosts and haunted houses are all popular in Halloween symbols that  have increased over the past decade.

  But what about in the Philippines, how they cope in their own superstitious beliefs especially when it is a bad-luck superstition. We can not deny that even though it is bad-luck superstition many Filipinos still rely on it.  Do Filipinos think that superstition go far? As a writer of this research, I think that is going far because it is originated in our culture and it is usually there in our lives. In this believe, I don't think that all people who believes in superstition will be suffer, because it is their decision if they want to be affected to this kind of superstition.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

HW7: Superstition Related to food (Article2)

Many people believes that there are a lot of superstition in any kinds of food. Like what we called the egg shells.It says that it brings real luck or good luck to people. The story of this goes that as per superstition if you do not crush the egg shells after having the egg they will be gathered by a witch who will then use the shells to make a boat for herself. Thus if you crushed the shells, they would be of no use to her. Another superstitious food is the salt. Spilling salt is considered unlucky. The only way out to turn back the bad luck is to throw some salt with your right hand over your left shoulder. It is also considered to be bad luck if you pass salt to another person. Folks believe that if you throw some salt on the windows and threshold of a new house, you can protect it from the evil eye. the garlic is also consider as superstition because it used in food and medicine since ancient times also has a strong superstition attached to it. The legend has it that the way to repel an evil eye is by carrying a piece of garlic with you. Garlic was supposed to be a powerful   deterrent against werewolves and vampires.  Hallow and crossed bread, According to the legend, if you came across a hole in a loaf of bread that you cut, it stands for a coffin and means that someone will die soon. Now, that's a strange one considering most loaves of baked bread have holes in them. The other superstition says that all loaves of bread must be marked with a sign of the cross before baking. The intention was to thwart the devil from sitting on the loaf and spoiling the bread.


     To summarize it, all I can say that even food have their own superstitious belief. It will defend on us on how we will believe it. It your decision if people continuing believe on it. As a writer of this research paper, I can say that food is one of the important aspect of our live, if we don't have any food it is so hard to live.  

HW6: Survey Report

     Superstitious beliefs is based from miracles, witch crafts, magic and supernaturals. It defines as ignorance and fear. On the background of the survey, I stated that this research is all the effects of superstition in the daily lives of Filipinos. But the information that I'm already gathered is not yet detailed, so I conduct survey, asking some questions that might help me to get some opinions to other people.
          I conduct survey to my friends and to my classmates. And as result of my survey, I get some opinions and answers that help me to solve my statement of the problem. As my survey goes by, I see that many Filipinos believes in superstition. But 5% of my survey was not. To those people who believe in superstition they believe most in Friday the 13th and some give their own superstition like, miracles, about dead person, or someone can't help you to assemble a mosquito net or what we called kulambo. Other said that, person can't sweep the floor at night because the good luck or the real luck was bring outside. For them, the benefits of superstition is they can prevent the bad things that they might encounter. 
            As my survey goes by, I see that not only fortune tellers but also all of the Filipinos are benefited this superstitious belief. People afraid most in breaking a mirror, across a black cat on a street and as well as the Friday the 13th. Also, one person, said that he or she afraid to the end of the world. And lastly, All of the people who answer my survey thinks that Filipinos always rely both on Bad luck and Good or real luck superstition.

This is the answer on my survey

1. Do you believe in superstition?
2. If yes, What superstition do you believe most?
3. What are the befits of superstition?
4. Who is person benefited in superstitious beliefs?
5. Among the superstitious belief, what superstitions do you afraid most?
6. Here in our country, which type of superstition do you think Filipinos always rely on?

     To summarize, I am very happy to the result of my survey because it helps a lot to solve my thesis problem. Because of the survey, I get some new information and opinions to other people. I am also happy because my expectation is there . Which is to benefit my research through survey.