SPORTING SUPERSTITIONS: WHY DO WE HAVE THEM?

By: Tom Stafford

Published: 27 March 2012; BBC Future; http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120327-why-do-we-have-superstitions

Level of Difficulty: *

Note to the Student: Don’t make this your first reading task in Level *; start with Breathing Lessons, How to Fight and The Origins of The Swastika. Once you have done those, tackle the rest.

BEFORE YOU READ

1.       Do you have any rituals or habits? What are they?

2.       Why do you think you have these rituals? Explain.

3.       Do any celebrities you know have rituals or superstitions?

NOW WATCH THE VIDEOS  
 8 Strange athlete superstition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuGJ1BDrdf0
Sports superstitions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiLyfwsMbDE

QUESTIONS

1.       What does “they” refer to in the sentence “And they are not always done to bring good luck”?

2.       What is the function of the sentence beginning “Behind the seemingly irrational acts…” just before the subtitle?

3.       What are the two reasons why habits are useful?

4.       What does the phrase “this strange behavior” in the phrase “Skinner’s explanation for this strange behavior is…” refer to?

5.       What does “this seed” in the following paragraph refer to and why does it lead to superstition?

6.       What is overtraining and what explanation is offered for it in the text?

7.       What practical advantage do habits provide sportsmen with?

8.       The rituals or habits described in the text don’t seem to have their roots in personality. On the contrary they are ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

WRITING TASK

Write a brief summary of about 150 words of the text. If you don’t know how to write summaries refer to the section marked Summaries on the blog.

SPORTING SUPERSTITIONS: WHY DO WE HAVE THEM? KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

It is very hard to find texts which are both simple and interesting so this was a very lucky find indeed. Since the topic is a very common one students can relate to it should go well. They will probably be able to provide examples of their own and come up with theories as well.

1.       Little routines or superstitions

2.       It hints at the thesis that there is an evolutionary advantage to superstitions and that they are not just irrational acts. It also provides transition from the introduction to the development.

3.       They do not take up mental effort (OR they are things we do without thinking) and they make us successful

4.       Some particular ritual

5.       You repeat the action and – lo! – food arrives; because our brains try and repeat whatever actions precede success (even if we cannot see how they have had their influences).

6.       If animals keep practicing these actions beyond the point at which they have effectively learnt them, they seem to forget about the specific effects of each action; the rat has developed a habit; something it does just because the opportunity is there, without thinking about the outcome.

7.       They help them relax and get in the zone.

8.       Coded in parts of our brains (which are designed by evolution not to think about reasons) OR ancient animal parts of our brains.