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The function of superstitious behaviour in parasport

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The function of superstitious behaviour in parasport:

A psychoanalytic review

Petra Kovács 1 – Dr. Kata Lénárd 2

Introduction

The aim of present work is to reveal the deeper meanings of superstitions in the life of parasport. Previous researches have attempted to develop theories about the function and origin of superstitious beliefs using the large scale of psychological methods. The relation between superstitious behaviour and trait anxiety, self-esteem or locus of control are known as well as the different forms of the phenomenon. A recent study using a psychoanalytic perspective attempts to interprete these objects and acts as transitional inner helpers for disabled people in sport. The origin of superstitions will be analysed related to the life story of subjects as well as the potential connection with transitional objects or imaginary companions from childhood.

Keywords: superstitions, locus of control, transitional object, imaginary friends, inner helpers, psychoanalytic perspective

Theoretical background

Superstition can be defined as „a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge, in or of the ominous significance of a particular thing, circumstance, occurance, proceeding or the like” (Vyse, 1997, p. 19.) It is a response to uncertainty. Superstitious behaviours in sport can be defined as actions which are repetitive, formal, sequential and which the sportmen believe to be powerful by controlling external factors. These behaviours or rituals and also the lucky charms are either personalized for each individual sportman.

Magical thinking is mainly prevalent among primitive tribes and young children. According to Piaget (1929) superstitious beliefs are remainders of childhood’s animistic and magical thinking: persuasion in a mutual influence between the person and the environment. In his view, superstitions are recurrences of infantile fantasies and primitive theories, and thus they are forms of regression. In my opinion, the different kinds of superstitions can be connected with the main stages of child development: transitional objects and imaginary friends.

Method

A half-structured deep interview was made and interpreted by qualitative content analysis using a psychoanalytic perspective.

Subject: a 28-year-old woman, double Paralympic swimming champion General questions about

superstitions of sport career

• Lucky charms and ritual acts

• Its origin and the history of the process of getting an unique function

• Its influence on performance

• Its nature as inner helper

Main References

Jackson, S. A., Csikszentmihalyi M. (1999) Sport és flow. Az optimális élmény. [Flow in Sports. The keys to optimal experiences and performances]. Budapest: Vince Kiadó

Jahoda, G. (1975) A babona lélektana. [The Psychology of Superstitions.] Budapest: Közgazdasági és Jogi Könyvkiadó

McLewin L. A., Muller, R. T. (2006). Childhood trauma, imaginary companions, and the development of pathological dissociation, Aggression and Violent Behavior 11, 531–545.Piaget, J. (1929) The Child’s Conception of the World. Kegan Paul

Vyse, S. A. (1997) Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition [Electronic version]. New York, NY:

Oxford University Press

Winnicott, D. (1971): Playing and Reality. London: Tavistock Publication.

The place of superstitions in the life story

• Transitional objects in childhood

• Its history, meanings and nature

• Imaginary companions

• Diary

Interpretation

The history of magic objects in a narrative

As a little child she had a sleeping pillow as a transitional object and she kept it for 15 years. Later she put its function and the „piece of home” characteristic to a new pillow.

At age 11, her parents got divorced and she moved to another city with her mum. In this overwhelming situation her mum got an elephant with trunk up from a good friend.

„In that condition, it was good to believe in something”. Elephants meant good luck, energy and protection and later she put its’ meaning to her performance and success in sport and started to collect elephants obsessively. Elephants became the main lucky charm in her sport career.

She was 14 when she got a poppet for christmas. This poppet became special for her, she made even a parish register (with name, doctor”s name, and her name as mother’s name).for it thus created an individual life story for her „daughter”.

The first superstition in her life is in connection with her date of birth (4th of April, 4.44 a.m.) and her childhood and home (house number 44). Later she insisted on getting the lane 4 in the swiming pool and she always calculated with the numbers of the dates of competitions to get 4 (22th of October: 2+2=4).

„Magic serves the individual” (Durkheim cited by Vyse, 1997, p. 10.)

She says her life is full of lucky charms which symbolize her dreams and the hope that these dreams will come true one day. „We have a superstition for everything”. She used a diary in a similar way: she put down the visualized outputs of competitions to achieve them. Having a lucky charm or a diary note anticipates the success. These acts of fantasy result the feeling of familiarity and security. Being physically ready for a competition is not enough, sometimes an extra component is needed to be mentally strong. „If my helpers are here with me, everything should be alright.”

From an externalobject to an inner helper

On her first paralympic games - at age 16 - she had a lot of stuffed animals with her.

She needed the real presence of her lucky charms like children stick at their transitional objects (1). Later on these lucky charms became introjected continuously. She did not insist on concrete objects, rather on their self- financed and emotion regulating role.

Discussion

The presented interpretations and conclusions are not general for parasportmen’

superstitions but they help to understand the deeper contents and dinamics of the phenomenon.

Beside examining the connection between superstitous behaviour and personality, level of stress, locus of control or the enhancement of performance, it can be also informative to analyze these actions’ origin in the narrative of the person. People insist on different objects from their early years to late adulthood and create loads of ways to cope with anxiety, loneliness, uncertainty. By following the development of external and internal helpers, we might find relationship between the happenings of life and the function and nature of lucky charms and ritual acts.

.

The function and the meaning became the most important components of the lucky charms: objects could change as the meaning can be put on them. By the half-way of the introjection process she did not have a physical object with her anymore but she painted an elephant with trunk up on her arm before the competition (~imaginary friend stage, 2). Elephants worked as inner helpers that were under her control and existed along her desires. „First of all, I believe in myself”, and superstitions intensify this faith, that is consistent what Jackson and Csikszentmihalyi (1997) claimed about locus of control in the case of superstitous behaviour.

This space is intersubjective and ideal for play. If sport can be interpreted as play, it may be possible to position it somewhere between the external and internal world.

Imaginary friends can be the next phase when concrete objects are not needed: children can create independent personalities in their fantasies. Imaginary companions help to cope with negative emotions and reduce the level of anxiety (McLewin & Muller, 2006). This phenomenon is transitional as well as superstitions in adulthood. People search lucky charms and create ritual acts for having control in situations which are emotionally burdened and can not be handled with the common coping mechanisms. Psychoanalysts also found superstitions’ origin in inner anxiety and interpreted them as forms of defensive mechanisms. Jackson and Csikszentmihalyi (1997) also emphasized the importance of the illusion of control. Fear can not be controlled but superstitions can, thus they help to achieve the experience of flow in sport.

Transitional objects have symbolic function especially in separative situations: they mean an inner basis of security, because they represent the external and internal reality at the same time. Transitional space is the overlapping space between two individuals, neither subject nor object but some of both (Winnicott, 1971).

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