Hvad tror danskerne på? En kortlægning af tro, overtro og overbevisning

Tror danskerne på spøgelser? Tror de at køn er en social konstruktion? Tror de på UFO’er og horoskoper? Mener de at videnskaben kan forklare vores oplevelse af skønhed? Er kvinder mere overtroiske end mænd? Tror de mere på intuition? Og er danskerne mere eller mindre overtroiske end folk i andre lande? Denne rapport er lavet på baggrund af en stor spørgeskemaundersøgelse som er gennemført i 2017-2018. Vi satte os for at kortlægge danskernes tro og overbevisning fordi der mangler viden på dette felt. Empirisk viden om befolkningens tro og overbevisning er væsentlig i et demokratisk samfund, ikke mindst i en tid hvor fake news og udsagn om det ’post-faktuelle’ og fakta-resistente samfund spiller en væsentlig rolle i den offentlige debat. Kritisk tænkning og videnskabelig oplysning er nødvendige midler i kampen mod misinformation og konspirationsteorier. Eksempelvis spillede diskussionen om voldsomme bivirkninger af HPV-vaccinen mod livmoderhalskræft en væsentlig rolle i den offentlige debat i 2015 og fremefter. Diskussionen blev især affødt af en dokumentarudsendelse, ’De vaccinerede piger’, som blev sendt på TV2 i marts 2015 og som mødte betragtelig videnskabelig kritik for manglende evidens. Selvom der stadig ikke foreligger videnskabelig evidens for bivirkninger af den slags der er blevet fremført af HPV- skeptikere, er resultatet af denne diskussion et markant fald i udbredelsen af vaccinen blandt danske piger. Blandt piger født i 2003 har 26% modtaget HPV-vaccine i Danmark. Til sammenligning er tallet i Sverige 73% og i Norge 84%. Den offentlige diskussion om HPV-vaccine og eventuelle bivirkninger illustrerer nødvendigheden af videnskabelig dannelse og oplysning i et demokratisk samfund hvor borgerne skal være i stand til at træffe beslutninger på baggrund af solid evidens og ikke bare anekdoter og mavefornemmelser. For at kortlægge danskernes overbevisninger inden for en række udvalgte områder, fra overtro til videnskabelig overbevisning, konstruerede vi et spørgeskema som blev distribueret via sociale medier. Flere end 2.200 personer besvarede undersøgelsen. I det følgende præsenterer og diskuterer vi de væsentligste resultater.

Rædsler fra Ribe og omegn: Skrækhistorien som global fortælling

In Horrors from Ribe and its environs: the horror tale as a global tale, Mathias Clasen takes as a starting point the fact that the human beings from all documented cultures spend a lot of time in fictive worlds , considering that their biological goal is to pass along their genes. According to Clasen, this suggests that art has deep roots in the human biological design. Through a reading of Teddy Vorks' horror novel The Dike, Clasen supports Joseph Caroll's hypothesis; that literature makes us better at surviving and reproducing, because fictive tales can make us better at understanding and navigating in both our inner as our outer landscapes

A Consilient Approach to Horror Video Games: Challenges and Opportunities

In response to the crisis in the humanities, some scholars have proposed consilience as a solution. They argue that humanists should build on recent findings in the sciences of mind, including cognitive and evolutionary psychology. We discuss the benefits and pitfalls of such an approach, illustrating our discussion with an analysis of the horror video game Amnesia: The Dark Descent. We argue that recent theoretical and empirical developments in the evolutionary social sciences can make sense of how and why horror games so effectively foster immersion and predictable psychophysiological responses. They target evolved survival mechanisms and are structured to reward vigilance and persistence in the face of fear- and anxiety-provoking stimuli. Finally, we discuss and refute a number of common criticisms of the consilient approach

A Cross-Disciplinary Survey of Beliefs about Human Nature and Culture.

How far has the Darwinian revolution come? To what extent have evolutionary ideas penetrated into the social sciences and humanities? Are the “science wars” over? Or do whole blocs of disciplines face off over an unbridgeable epistemic gap? To answer questions like these, contributors to top journals in 22 disciplines were surveyed on their beliefs about human nature, culture, and science. More than 600 respondents completed the survey. Scoring patterns divided into two main sets of disciplines. Genetic influences were emphasized in the evolutionary social sciences, evolutionary humanities, psychology, empirical study of the arts, philosophy, economics, and political science. Environmental influences were emphasized in most of the humanities disciplines and in anthropology, sociology, education, and women’s or gender studies. Confidence in scientific explanation correlated positively with emphasizing genetic influences on behavior, and negatively with emphasizing environmental influences. Knowing the current actual landscape of belief should help scholars avoid sterile debates and ease the way toward fruitful collaborations with neighboring disciplines

Interdisciplinary: To Be or Not to Be? Working Across Disciplinary Boundaries in the Humanities (and Beyond)

This article introduces student readers to the realm of the interdisciplinary, with a primary focus on the humanities. We first introduce interdisciplinarity and other related terms as concepts. We then present eight specific examples, on which we illustrate interdisciplinary research. Finally, we address the question of when one should be interdisciplinary

Why Frightening Imaginary Worlds? Morbid curiosity and the learning potential of horror

In addition to satisfying a predisposition for exploration, fiction with imaginary worlds may also appeal to morbid curiosity, an adaptive motivation to seek out information about dangerous situations. Most imaginary worlds contain narrative elements of danger, and immersion in such worlds may provide people with information that would be costly to acquire in the real world

The evolutionary functions of imagination and fiction and how they may contribute to psychological wellbeing during a pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread social disruption and lockdowns, with negative consequences for psychological wellbeing worldwide. We argue that mental simulation, through the cognitive capacity of imagination and its instigator fiction, may have substantial positive contributions to psychological wellbeing during the pandemic. We review relevant research on the evolutionary functions of simulation through imagination and fiction, and propose that simulation is a tool to support (i) planning and future thought, (ii) coping and emotion regulation, (iii) bonding and social needs, and (iv) identity and worldviews. We suggest that these functions can contribute to coping during the pandemic. We also address the dark side of simulation, whereby excessive simulation may have negative effects such as rumination. In light of previous research and the negative psychological effects of COVID-19 disruptions and lockdowns, we suggest that there is much scope for future research on this topic, including whether simulations offered by imaginative activity could be useful and inexpensive mental health tools

The psychological benefits of scary play in three types of horror fans

Why do people seek out frightening leisure activities such as horror films and haunted attractions, and does the experience benefit them in any way? In this article, we address these questions through two separate studies. In Study 1, we asked American horror fans (n = 256) why they like horror and identified three overall types of horror fans which we term “Adrenaline Junkies,” “White Knucklers,” and “Dark Copers.” In Study 2, we collected data from Danish visitors at a haunted house attraction (n = 258) and replicated the findings from Study 1 by identifying the same three types of horror fans. Furthermore, we show that these three types of horror fans report distinct benefits from horror experiences. Adrenaline Junkies reported immediate enjoyment, White Knucklers reported personal growth, and Dark Copers reported both. These results suggest that frightening leisure activities are not just an outlet for Adrenaline Junkies and sensation-seekers, but that the allure of horror has as much to do with its potential as a stimulus for personal growth as it has with enjoyment