Why People Believe in Ghosts More Than in God: Scientists Explain the “Popularity” of Paranormal Phenomena
Fun fact: According to a 2016 YouGov poll, people in the UK are more likely to believe in ghostly spirits than in the existence of God.
What explains the belief in the paranormal
According to Richard Wiseman, professor of public understanding psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, belief in the paranormal is driven by two factors.
It's personal experience, as well as popular media and faith.
The scientist claims that man has an open mind with a rich imagination. He wants to think that there is a world in which there is no pain and suffering, in which our loved ones are still with us.
Humans are pattern-seeking creatures, Wiseman believes. The price we pay for seeing patterns is sometimes that we overdo it and see patterns that aren't there.
More specifically, the professor links belief in ghosts to creativity. In particular, a 2013 study at the University of British Columbia found that people with a greater tendency to anthropomorphize non-human objects are more likely to believe in ghosts.
In Wiseman's view, such people are unprejudiced, have creative thinking, and are able to delve deeply into situations like a play or film, identifying patterns.
Earlier we talked about what you can learn about a person by his gait .
