There are several examples of this in the play. The one that stands out the most in my mind is the reason behind why Martha Corey was arrested. She sold a pig to Walcott, that died shortly after he got it, because he wasn't feeding it properly. So, Marth chastised him, saying, "Walcott, if you haven't the wit to feed a pig properly, you'll not live to own many." Well, sure enough, his pigs keep dying. So, he supersitiously claims that the reason was because "Martha bewitch them with her books". The common-sense reason why the pigs are dying? He's starving them. The irrational, superstitious reason? Martha's a witch casting spells on them.
Another example is when Mary Warren casts the "final proof" that Sarah Osburn is a witch. After she turned her away from the house without food, Osburn mumbled and she "thought [her] guts would burst for two days after." The superstitious implication is that Osburn mumbled some sort of curse or witchcraft to make Mary sick. Never mind the logical answer which was that she just coincidentally happened to get some sort of bug.
Another example is when Cheever and Herrick immediately take the poppet situation as hard proof that Elizabeth is a witch, a superstitious belief, over the logical assumption that Abby saw Mary put the needle there and used the opportunity to her advantage.
These situations, and many others, show fear and superstitioun ruling Salem, not logic and reason.
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