Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Previous research has found a connection between the type of goals that individuals set and psychopathology, specifically depression (Dickson & Moberly, 2013). Magical thinking is the belief that a person’s thoughts are connected to their actions or to future outcomes (Markle, 2010). Magical thinking has been found to be a primary feature in many psychological disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (Shihata et al., 2014). The present study is the first of the literature to examine the relationships between goal setting and magical thinking as well as magical thinking and various psychological disorders such as depression. The current study examined the type of goals that were set by 86 individuals, specific and plausible, and magical thinking beliefs. The current study did not find a significant relationship between the type of goals that individuals set, specific or plausible, and magical thinking beliefs or any psychological disorders. There were significant positive relationships found between familiarity with the law of attraction and belief in the law of attraction with psychological disorders and symptoms. Implications for clinical practice and future directions are discussed.

Year manuscript completed

2019

Year degree awarded

2019

Author's Keywords

magical thinking, goal specificity, the law of attraction, goal plausibility

Thesis Advisor

Michael Bordieri

Committee Chair

Michael Bordieri

Committee Member

Marie Karlsson

Committee Member

Esther Malm

Committee Member

Alexandra Hendley

Document Type

Thesis

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