Ten female and five male participants (age range 28–50 years) were recruited at esoteric fairs or via esoteric chatrooms. In a guided face-to-face interview, they reported origins and contents of their beliefs in e.g. esoteric practices, supernatural beings, rebirthing, channeling. Transcripts of the tape-recorded reports were subjected to a qualitative analysis. Exhaustive categorization of the narratives’ content revealed that paranormal beliefs were functional with regard to two fundamental motives – striving for mastery and valuing me and mine (striving for a positive evaluation of the self). Moreover, paranormal beliefs paved the way for goal-setting and leading a meaningful life but, on the negative side, could also result in social exclusion. Results are discussed with reference to the adaptive value of paranormal beliefs.

在神秘的集市或通过神秘的聊天室招募了10名女性和5名男性参与者（年龄在28-50岁之间）。在面对面的引导访问中，他们报告了其信仰的起源和内容，例如深奥的习俗，超自然的存在，重生，引导。磁带记录的报告的笔录进行了定性分析。叙述内容的详尽分类显示，超自然信念在两个基本动机方面起作用：争取精通和评价我和我的价值（争取对自我的积极评价）。此外，超自然的信念为设定目标和过上有意义的生活铺平了道路，但从消极的方面讲，这也可能导致社会排斥。参考超自然信念的适应性价值讨论了结果。