Psychological theories of magic

Theories

One of the earliest psychological explanations for magic came from Sigmund Freud, who proposed the psychosis theory. He argued that early humans were not rational thinkers and that their magical thinking closely resembled neurotic behavior. However, later psychologists have questioned this view, noting that psychological tests do not translate perfectly across different cultures. A competing idea, the "bad science" model, takes the opposite stance: it sees early humans as rational beings who turned to magic when trying to make sense of confusing events without enough information. In this view, a magician is like a primitive scientist who simply lacks the necessary data. Edward Burnett Tylor refined this by suggesting that the magician's mistake is confusing an imagined connection with a real one. For instance, the Azande rub crocodile teeth on banana plants to encourage growth, because crocodile teeth keep growing. The idea is that fertility can transfer from a symbol of fertility, like the tooth, to the target, the banana tree. Michael F. Brown has noted that many Aguaruna taboos can be seen as attempts to block unwanted links.

A different approach, the symbolic action theory, sees magic as a response to a strong emotional need for action when no practical solution exists. R.R. Marett gave the example of a man who, after being betrayed by his lover, burns her photographs. This is a modern version of using a voodoo doll. Marett explained that if such an emotional situation becomes common enough, the reaction can turn into a socially accepted ritual, which outsiders call magic and he termed "developed magic." Claude Levi-Strauss and Ariel Glucklich expanded on this idea, suggesting that magic can function like psychotherapy or a New Age practice, achieving real effects through a placebo-like mechanism. The results become real because they change the individual's behavior and life. Other thinkers in this category, such as Stanley J. Tambiah, argue that magic is meant to be expressive rather than directly useful. Unlike James Frazer's idea of direct imitation, Tambiah believes magic uses abstract comparisons, like metaphor or metonymy, to express a desired outcome.