COLEGIUL NAIONAL AL. I.

CUZA
ALEXANDRIA

LUCRARE PENTRU OBINEREA

ATESTATULUI DE COMPETEN
LINGVISTIC
LIMBA ENGLEZ-BILINGV

Coordonator stiintific: Prof.

Elev: Anghel Ctlin-Daniel

-MAI 2017-

COLEGIUL NAIONAL AL. I. CUZA

ALEXANDRIA

2
 Nr. . din

LUCRARE PENTRU OBINEREA

ATESTATULUI DE COMPETEN
LINGVISTIC
LIMBA ENGLEZ-BILINGV

Coordonator stiintific: Prof.

Elev: Anghel Ctlin-Daniel

-MAI 2017-

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION....2
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO SUPERSTITIONS.......3
CHAPTER 1.1: ETYMOLOGY..3
CHAPTER 1.2: SUPERSTITION AND FOLKLORE....3
CHAPTER 1.3: SUPERSTITION AND PSYCHOLOGY..3
CHAPTER 2: UK SUPERSTITIONS AND THEIR ORIGIN4

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 INTRODUCTION
Every day in our human lives we stumble at least once upon the word
superstition, either in a warning or in an explanation for a certain action. But
how is a superstition defined? What exactly is it based on? And how was it
passed on for generations? In this research paper entitled Superstitions in the
UK I will try to answer these questions as accurately as possible and delve into
the origin of infamous superstitions such as finding a four clover plant with
four leaves brings good luck and walking underneath a ladder causes bad
luck. The paper is structured into 4 chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the reader
to the basic notions regarding the superstition sphere of things and revolves
mostly around general topics from around the world. Once the reader is
accustomed to the topic Chapter 2 follows. Despite the fact that there are
countless omens, some will be skipped and left out of this paper as Chapter 2
will mostly be dealing with showing some of the more common superstitions in
the United Kingdom and some uncommon ones, alongside with explanations
regarding their origin and attached behavior (where applicable). I have
chosen to only include some superstitions because making a complete list of
them would be a very tedious task, and it will bore the reader as the purpose is
to discuss the superstitions, not to simply enumerate them. In Chapter 3, the
issue whether believing in such phenomena is rational or not, making use of
information that shows the way people viewed superstitions across time and
space. Chapter 4 will serve as a conclusion, wrapping the whole idea of the
paper into a few paragraphs. From there, the arguments having been presented
by then, the reader will be able to develop a personal opinion regarding the
topic.

In the UK, it is considered good luck to meet a black cat. That is why they are featured on many
greeting and birthday cards.

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 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO SUPERSTITIONS

What exactly is a superstition? Superstition is the belief in supernatural causalitythat one event
causes another without any natural process linking the two events-such as astrology and religions,
like omens, witchcraft, and prophecies, that contradict natural science. The word superstition is
generally used to refer to the religion not practiced by the majority of a given society regardless of
whether the prevailing religion contains superstitions. It is also commonly applied to beliefs and
practices surrounding luck, prophecy, and certain spiritual beings, particularly the belief that future
events can be foretold by specific (apparently) unrelated prior events.

CHAPTER 1.1: SUPERSTITON AND FOLKLORE

There is little distinction between superstition and religion. What is fully accepted as genuine
religious statement may be seen as poor superstition by those who do not share the same faith. Since
there are no generally agreed proper or accepted religious standards among people of different
cultural backgrounds, the very notion of what is a superstitious behavior is relative to local culture.
In this sense, Christian theology will interpret African cults as pure superstition while an evangelical
Christian will see as meaningless the Catholic ritual of crossing oneself when going by a church.
With the development of folklore studies in the late 18th century, use of the derogatory term
superstition was sometimes replaced by the neutral term "folk belief", an attempt to go over local
cultural biases. Both terms remain in use; thus, describing a practice such as the crossing fingers to
nullify a promise as "folk belief" implies a neutral description from the perspective of ethnology or
folklore studies, while calling the same thing a "superstition" implies its rejection as irrational.

CHAPTER 1.2: SUPERSTITION AND PSYCHOLOGY

Behaviorism Perspective
In 1948, behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner published an article in the Journal of Experimental
Psychology, in which he described his pigeons exhibiting what appeared to be superstitious
behavior. One pigeon was making turns in its cage, another would swing its head in a pendulum
motion, while others also displayed a variety of other behaviors. Because these behaviors were all
done ritualistically in an attempt to receive food from a dispenser, even though the dispenser had
already been programmed to release food at set time intervals regardless of the pigeons' actions,
Skinner believed that the pigeons were trying to influence their feeding schedule by performing
these actions. He then extended this as a proposition regarding the nature of superstitious behavior
in humans.

Skinner's theory regarding superstition being the nature of the pigeons' behavior has been challenged
by other psychologists such as Staddon and Simmelhag, who theorized an alternative explanation
for the pigeons' behavior.

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Despite challenges to Skinner's interpretation of the root of his pigeons' superstitious behavior, his
conception of the reinforcement schedule has been used to explain superstitious behavior in humans.
Originally, in Skinner's animal research, "some pigeons responded up to 10,000 times without
reinforcement when they had originally been conditioned on an intermittent reinforcement basis."
Compared to the other reinforcement schedules (e.g., fixed ratio, fixed interval), these behaviors
were also the most resistant to extinction. This is called the partial reinforcement effect, and this has
been used to explain superstitious behavior in humans. To be more precise, this effect means that,
whenever an individual performs an action expecting a reinforcement, and none seems forthcoming,
it actually creates a sense of persistence within the individual. This strongly parallels superstitious
behavior in humans because the individual feels that, by continuing this action, reinforcement will
happen; or that reinforcement has come at certain times in the past as a result of this action, although
not all the time, but this may be one of those times.

Mechanisms
People seem to believe that superstitions influence events by changing the likelihood of currently
possible outcomes rather than by creating new possible outcomes. In sporting events, for example, a
lucky ritual or object is thought to increase the chance that an athlete will perform at the peak of
their ability, rather than increasing their overall ability at that sport. Consequently, people whose
goal is to perform well are more likely to rely on "supernatural assistance" - lucky items and rituals -
than are people whose goal is to improve their skills and abilities and learn in the same context.

Occurrence

People tend to attribute events to supernatural causes (in psychological jargon, "external causes")
most often under two circumstances.

1. People are more likely to attribute an event to a superstitious cause if it is unlikely than if it
is likely. In other words, the more surprising the event, the more likely it is to evoke a
supernatural explanation. This is believed to stem from a motivation - a basic desire to exert
control over one's environment. When no natural cause can explain a situation, attributing an
event to a superstitious cause may give people some sense of control and ability to predict
what will happen in their environment.

2. People are more likely to attribute an event to a superstitious cause if it is negative than
positive. This is called negative agency bias. Boston Red Sox fans, for instance, attributed
the failure of their team to win the world series for 86 years to the curse of the bambino: a
curse placed on the team for trading Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees so that the team
owner could fund a Broadway musical. When the Red Sox finally won the world series in
2004, however, the team's success was attributed to skill of the team and the rebuilding effort
of the new owner and general manager. More commonly, people are more likely to perceive
their computer to act according to its own intentions when it malfunctions than functions
properly.

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 CHAPTER 2: UK SUPERSTITIONS AND THEIR ORIGINS

Despite being nowadays things that are known and followed in the majority of the world, most
superstitions have been inherited from the United Kingdom, one of the biggest colonial powers of
the past. Because the UK is responsible for so many colonies, it is only expected that the remnants
of those colonies will share the same beliefs as their founders. But, most superstitions are not
originary from the UK, most have their grounds set up way back in ancient times.

1. Dont open an umbrella indoors

There are two possible origins of this superstition. Some people believe that it
originated in Egyptian times when umbrellas were used to protect people from the heat of the sun.
To open an umbrella indoors was an insult to the God of the Sun.

Other people believe that this superstition started in 18th century London when waterproof umbrellas
with large metal spokes began to be used. The umbrellas were very large and difficult to open so
often caused an injury to someone or an object to be broken if opened in the house.

2. Dont walk under a ladder

This is one of the most common superstitions in Britain. If you see a ladder propped up against a
wall in the UK, it is very unlikely that you will see someone walking underneath it for fear of
getting bad luck.

It is thought that this superstition originates in Egypt thousands of years ago. The Egyptians strongly
believed in the power of the pyramids. So much so that even a ladder leaning against a wall formed
a triangle which symbolised a pyramid. They believed that walking under a ladder would break the
power of the pyramid and bring bad luck.

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4. Dont spill salt

Have you ever seen someone spill salt and then throw some over their shoulder? It is a common
belief that spilling salt is bad luck but throwing some over your shoulder afterwards will counter the
bad luck (although, not for the person standing behind you who is likely to get salt in their eyes!).

It might be hard to believe, but many years ago salt was very expensive and spilling it was
considered wasteful behaviour which could bring unlucky omens. An alternative theory is that
spilling salt is an invitation to let the devil in and throwing salt over your shoulder will keep the
devil (and bad luck) away.

5. Dont put new shoes on the table

According to superstition in the UK, you should never put new shoes on a table as it is symbolises
death of a family member. Many years ago, when a miner passed away, his shoes would be placed
on a table and this is often how his family would find out about his death. Due to this, people started
to believe that putting shoes on a table was tempting fate (doing something risky or dangerous and
relying on luck).

It is not clear why people specifically dont put new shoes on a table, but one reason could be that
when people used to buy new shoes, there were nails holding the shoes together. If they were put on
a table, the nails would scratch it.

6. Hang a horseshoe on your door open-end-up for good luck."

The horseshoe is considered to be a good luck charm in a wide range of cultures. Belief in its
magical powers traces back to the Greeks, who thought the element iron had the ability ward off
evil. Not only were horseshoes wrought of iron, they also took the shape of the crescent moon in
fourth century Greecefor the Greeks, a symbol of fertility and good fortune.

The belief in the talismanic powers of horseshoes passed from the Greeks to the Romans, and from
them to the Christians. In the British Isles in the Middle Ages, when fear of witchcraft was rampant,
people attached horseshoes open-end-up to the sides of their houses and doors. People thought
witches feared horses, and would shy away from any reminders of them.
7. The number 13 is unlucky.
Fear of the number 13, known as "triskaidekaphobia," has its origins in Norse mythology. In a well-
known tale, 12 gods were invited to dine at Valhalla, a magnificent banquet hall in Asgard, the city
of the gods. Loki, the god of strife and evil, crashed the party, raising the number of attendees to 13.
The other gods tried to kick Loki out, and in the struggle that ensued, Balder, the favorite among
them, was killed.
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Scandinavian avoidance of 13-member dinner parties, and dislike of the number 13 itself, spread
south to the rest of Europe. It was reinforced in the Christian era by the story of the Last Supper, at
which Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the thirteenth guest at the table.