Salem-Witch Trials Psychology

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Specters of the Psyche: Psychological Explanations for the Salem Witch Trials Imagine a community so consumed by fear and suspicion that neighbors turned against each other, and innocent lives were snuffed out in a frenzy of paranoia. The Salem witch trials of 1692 stand as one of the most terrifying episodes of mass hysteria and societal collapse in American history. While it is easy to blame these trials on the religious zeal of the Puritans, this perspective fails to consider the dark psychological forces at play. Examining the Salem witch trials, the lens of these psychological phenomena uncovers a more profound and comprehensive explanation for the tragedy of the Salem witch trials of 1692. Despite the common perception that they were …show more content…

In such an insular and devout community, wherein conformity to the religious doctrine was crucial, the attribution of afflictions to witchcraft, at least to them, was a more plausible explanation than any sort of rational or psychiatric explanation. Conclusion: Regardless, while Puritan religious fervor undoubtedly played a role in the Salem witch trials, it was not the primary cause and ultimately served as a breeding ground for the psychological phenomena that did cause the Salem witch trials. One psychological phenomenon that the cause of the Salem witch trials is most commonly attributed to is mass hysteria. Hysteria is a term for any psychosomatic disorder characterized by paralysis, blindness, loss of sensation, and hallucinations and often accompanied by emotional outbursts and histrionic behavior. Mass hysteria refers to the rapid spread of collective delusions, often causing widespread anxiety or irrational behavior within a community or group (American Psychological Association). Histrionic behavior of the afflicted was unfamiliar and fueled the mass hysteria that caused the extreme witch …show more content…

Finally, confirmation bias was another psychological precipitant in the Salem witch trials. Confirmation bias is best described as the tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or assumptions (American Psychological Association). In an article from the University of Michigan Law School on the Salem witch trials, it is said "a strong confirmation bias helped move things along: Many of the accused were, for one reason or another, socially marginalized, and they probably became the target of a witchcraft charge precisely because of their outsider status” (Niehoff). Confirmation bias greatly contributed to the targeting of socially marginalized individuals. The bias led the community to interpret the behavior and status of these individuals in a way that confirmed their preexisting beliefs about witchcraft. People who were already somewhat ostracized from the community were more likely to be viewed with suspicion and charged with witchcraft because their actions were already being perceived through a biased lens that favored the people’s assumptions and disregarded any rational or redeeming

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