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It's a Miracle: Separating the Miraculous from the Mundane

Ransom, Michael R.

Abstract Details

2011, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Psychology (Arts and Sciences).
What aspects of events impel people to label them as miraculous? Four studies examined various factors that lead people to designate an event as a miracle. The first study was conducted in order to identify the basic elements of laypersons’ miracle beliefs. To do so, we had participants define a miracle, list five events that they considered miraculous, and state what they believe to be the purpose of miracles. Results showed that people tend to view miracles as highly improbable and beneficial occurrences and that they occur to instill hope and faith in people, showing God’s power in the natural world. Studies 2 and 3 investigated whether people’s miracle judgments are malleable and found that people tend to label events as miracles when the events in question were of high magnitude, obtained in an unusual manner, personally affected the event’s protagonist, involved a person of worthy character, and resulted in an altruistic, beneficial health outcome as well as when the events benefited another person’s physical welfare, were of personal relevance, and depicted a low-probability event. Study 4 also showed that miracle events should have a low probability and demonstrated that miracle judgments can be influenced by just world and free will beliefs.
Mark Alicke, D (Committee Chair)
Keith Markman (Committee Member)
Matt Vess (Committee Member)
Ronaldo Viggo (Committee Member)
Robert Shelly (Committee Member)
112 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Ransom, M. R. (2011). It's a Miracle: Separating the Miraculous from the Mundane [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1304531829

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ransom, Michael. It's a Miracle: Separating the Miraculous from the Mundane. 2011. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1304531829.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ransom, Michael. "It's a Miracle: Separating the Miraculous from the Mundane." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1304531829

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)