Title: Temperature

General Information about Item:

• Superstition
• Language: English
• Origin: Dartmouth College
• Informant: Rachael Onserio
• Date Collected: February 24, 2018

Informant Data:

• The informant is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both of her parents were born and raised in Kenya. She is the oldest of four children. Her younger brother and sister both attend Harvard University and her youngest sister is currently in middle school. Her mother is a social worker and her father is a financial consultant. She attended a college prep school for high school.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: Her parents are very focused on she and her siblings’ academics and education in general. She attended a college prep school in highs school which had a rigid set of rules and this translated into how she goes about taking tests. The also states that she has test anxiety so this is done to alleviate that. All of these elements together have shaped her test taking habits.
• Cultural Context: African families really tend to stress the important of getting an education and doing well in the process. This could be a contributing factor to the way that she views and approaches exams.

Item:

• She needs to be wearing layers while taking the exam so she can add and remove clothing as needed throughout the exam. She does this because her body temperature is not regulated while taking the exam, it distracts her and takes away from the attention she should be paying to her exam. She also needs to have a water bottle and a watch with her so she can keep track of the time remaining for the exam. These helps her with time management and allows her to allot the appropriate amount of time to each question. Many of these superstitions she learned from her friends at school, who had similar body temperature control issues and anxiety during exams.

Informant’s Comments:

• Education is very important to myself and my family. I have to be prepared for anything during the exam and these superstitions make me feel prepared.

Collector’s Comments:

• People have different ways of coping with stress, such as following certain superstitions to ease their mind.

Collector’s Name: Abigeal Aboaba

Tags/Keywords:

• Superstition
• Temperature
• Water
• Watch