目の前を黒い猫が横切ったら、あるいは鏡を割ってしまったら、不吉なことが起きる前兆だと捉えますか？ 迷信や都市伝説は一体どこで生まれ、なぜ根強く語り継がれるのでしょうか。迷信は2000年にわたり、異端や宗教上容認できない慣習に汚名を着せ、社会的に隔離することを主な目的としていました。今日のように科学が発達した世の中で、高等教育を受けている人でさえ信じてしまう迷信。それらが消えて無くならない心理的背景を探るほか、グローバル化が進展した未来の迷信がどのようなものになるかを展望します。
　　

• Explores the history of our deepest superstitions, and the psychological reasons behind why they persist today
• Reveals the surprising connections between current everyday superstitions and the ancient world
• Provides an up-to-date assessment of the psychological foundations of superstitious belief
• Gives an overview of the fascinating array of contemporary superstitions throughout the world

           
Do you touch wood for luck, or avoid hotel rooms on floor thirteen? Would you cross the path of a black cat, or step under a ladder? Is breaking a mirror just an expensive waste of glass, or something rather more sinister? Despite the dominance of science in today's world, superstitious beliefs - both traditional and new - remain surprisingly popular. A recent survey of adults in the United States found that 33 percent believed that finding a penny was good luck, and 23 percent believed that the number seven was lucky. Where did these superstitions come from, and why do they persist today?
           
This Very Short Introduction explores the nature and surprising history of superstition from antiquity to the present. For two millennia, superstition was a label derisively applied to foreign religions and unacceptable religious practices, and its primary purpose was used to separate groups and assert religious and social authority. After the Enlightenment, the superstition label was still used to define groups, but the new dividing line was between reason and unreason. Today, despite our apparent sophistication and technological advances, superstitious belief and behaviour remain widespread, and highly educated people are not immune. Stuart Vyse takes an exciting look at the varieties of popular superstitious beliefs today and the psychological reasons behind their continued existence, as well as the likely future course of superstition in our increasingly connected world.