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GENDER ASPECTS OF SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS AND THEIR CORRELATIONS WITH THE LIFE MEANING ORIENTATIONS OF PERSONALITY // Pedagogical Review. 2022. Issue 4 (44). P. 161-171

In spite of growing research interest in the scientific problem of superstitiousness nowadays there are still a wide range of contradictions and challenges in this sphere of research: the nature and essence of the concept of superstitiousness, its role in everyday living and its position in the structure of personality. Being a very archaic phenomenon superstitiousness is still relevant in the modern society. This article addresses gender context of superstitiousness and its intercorrelation with individual value orientations that give the meaning of live. The study was carried out in May – July 2021 in Kazan (Russia). The study was conducted on a sample of 40 people (20 men and 20 women) aged 18 to 45 years and showed no significant gender differences in the manifestation of superstitiousness and life-meaning values, although female sample displayed higher superstitiousness indexes. Some interesting differences were found in the structure of correlations between superstition beliefs and lifemeaning orientations. The male sample had negative correlation links between pra-logical perception and locus of control. Also, magical forecast, pra-logical defense and integral superstitiousness index was negatively correlated with general awareness. In the female sample group magical anxiety, magical forecast, unconventional heeling, pra-logical defense and integral superstitiousness index had negative correlations with the locus of control.

Keywords: gender, gender differences, superstitiousness, superstitious beliefs, life meaning, orientation