Magical beliefs: development and validation of a questionnaire

Abstract

Introduction: Magical beliefs are universal phenomena and have been present since prehistoric times. Frequently, they are relegated to children, primitive minds, superstition, parapsychology or psychopathology. However, these beliefs appear in normal, daily circumstances. We were not able to find an instrument to analyze the presence of magical beliefs in medical students, and therefore we are unaware if it influences their professional life.

Objective: To design and get the psychometric properties of a new instrument for assessing magical thinking of medical students in Mexico: face validity, construct validity and internal consistency.
Methods: A principal components factor analysis with Varimax rotation with Kaiser Normalization was developed and validated as a tool to measure magical beliefs. Validation was done through its application in third year medical students. The final questionnaire consisted of 34 items and was designed considering two dimensions: one that analyses the presence of some kind of magic beliefs and another where disillusionment or refusing to believe in it is present.

Results: The sample was made up of 555 students (62% women and 38% men) with an average age of 21. The final instrument consisted of 29 items, which were grouped into five factors: analogy, adualism, animism, skepticism and reason vs. magic. The standardized alpha was 0.85. The questionnaire explains the 43.8 of variance.

Conclusions: The instrument proved practical for magical beliefs, and can be used to establish strategies to strengthen or correct cognitive aspects of future professionals.