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A new study claims that people's beliefs in supernatural powers and explanation of the unknown through them increases with age.

The study by researchers from The University of Texas at Austin explores a new side of developmental learning. 

"As children assimilate cultural concepts into their intuitive belief systems-from God to atoms to evolution-they engage in coexistence thinking," said Cristine Legare, assistant professor of psychology and lead author of the study was quoted as saying by Medical Xpress. 

"When they merge supernatural and scientific explanations, they integrate them in a variety of predictable and universal ways." 

For the study, the researchers analyzed 30 plus studies from various countries on how people reasoned three major existential questions: the origin of life, illness and death. The participants of the study ranged from age 5 to 75. 

The participants of the study were presented with stories of different people who had AIDS and were asked to either support or reject various biological and supernatural factors that could have contributed to people contracting the virus. 

The findings revealed that for at least one event, all the participants in the study agreed to biological explanations, while factors such as witchcraft were also frequently supported among children (aged 5 and above) and universally among adults, the report said. 

About 26 percent of adult participants believed that the reason for the contraction of the virus was either biology or witchcraft. And 38 percent split biological and scientific explanations into one theory. For example: "Witchcraft, which is mixed with evil spirits, and unprotected sex caused AIDS." 

More than half of the participants believed that witchcraft and biological factors, both were responsible for the illness. For example: "A witch can put an HIV-infected person in your path." 

According to Legare, the findings of the study go against the common notion that people's supernatural beliefs diminish with age and knowledge and added that people's beliefs in supernatural phenomena is fundamental to human thinking.   

"The findings show supernatural explanations for topics of core concern to humans are pervasive across cultures," Legare said. "If anything, in both industrialized and developing countries, supernatural explanations are frequently endorsed more often among adults than younger children." 

"The standard assumption that scientific and religious explanations compete should be re-evaluated in light of substantial psychological evidence. The data, which spans diverse cultural contexts across the lifespan, shows supernatural reasoning is not necessarily replaced with scientific explanations following gains in knowledge, education or technology," Legare added.

The study was published in the Journal Child Development.