That ‘lucky’ charm of yours — the troll doll with the purple hair and eyeglasses — you might just want to bring it along to bingo night. Science has determined this type of superstitious behavior can work. Yes, science has said so.
New research shows that having some kind of lucky token can actually improve your performance – by increasing your self-confidence. [source]
Okay, so the mode of action is thoroughly natural vs. supernatural/magical. Still. If it works, can we categorize the behavior as fully irrational?
Sure, the belief in how superstitious charms and rituals work may be irrational. But if they do work . . . .
As for the finding itself, here’s more:
In one of the experiments, volunteers were told to bring a lucky charm with them. Then the researchers took it away to take a picture. People brought in all kinds of items, from old stuffed animals to wedding rings to lucky stones. Half of the volunteers were given their charm back before the test started; the other half were told there was a problem with the camera equipment and they would get it back later. Volunteers who had their lucky charm did better at a memory game on the computer, and other tests showed that this difference was because they felt more confident. [emphasis added]
On a skeptic note, I do wonder about the part about “increased confidence” being the reason for the better performance. Self-reported feelings can be spot-on, but they can also be off the mark. Lowered anxiety levels have previously been associated with better performance on tests. Akin to the compulsions that people with OCD engage in to decrease their anxiety level, could these lucky charms and superstitious rituals be doing something similar? Was/is there a way to differentiate between feelings of lesser anxiety and feelings of greater confidence?
Further research will tell.
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Tags: behavior, superstition
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