ABSTRACT
As we are constantly faced with the need to make decisions and choices under uncertain conditions, which results in distress, we seek advice and solace. We often turn to various practices claiming to provide us with answers, comfort, healing, and even information regarding our future. This book examines two such categories of practices: the first, described in Chapters 1 and 2, includes practices that have no scientific claims but are extremely popular, and their practitioners claim to know detailed information about people based on the status of the stars, supernatural powers, and even communication with the dead. The second category of practices do claim to have scientific validity but in reality are merely pseudo-scientific. Under this category, we examine the use of graphology (Chapter 3) and polygraph (Chapter 4). The common grounds of all these practices is faith – the belief in them – both on the part of the practitioners as well as on the part of the clients. Hence, the last chapter is devoted to the psychological mechanisms driving us to believe.
