How can smart, well-informed people make horrible mistakes? The answer lies in the psychology of dissociation, in our human ability to separate our mental processes from the physical world around us, and to enter our own internal worlds of thought and imagination. Dissociation has its good side, contributing to creativity and imaginative achievement in many ways. However, it can also cause us difficulties ranging from inconvenience to catastrophic failure, as we inadvertently mistake the products of our own minds for the realities which surround us. Dissociation and Belief shows us how dissociation works in religious and paranormal thinking, in criminal justice and the sciences, in human disasters such as famine and warfare, and in the more intimate world of the problems we face every day; but it also shows us how an understanding of dissociation, and of the ways in which our minds deal with it, can help us to prevent difficulties and disasters in every aspect of our lives. Dissociation is a completely normal process which affects us all; but Dissociation and Belief shows us how we can reduce or even eliminate the negative effects of dissociation in virtually every aspect of our lives, enhancing our happiness and success in our careers, for our families, and for ourselves. Drs. Matthew J. Sharps and Jana L. Price-Sharps have conducted research, teaching, and practice in dissociation and related fields of psychology for over three decades, focusing especially on thinking, memory, stress, and dissociation in contexts ranging from everyday life to the special, high-stress demands faced by law enforcement, fire, and military personnel.