From Friday to 13th to good luck charms, here's why some people still believe in superstitions
Maybe you have to tap the plane three times as you board. Maybe you can't watch your beloved Eagles play without wearing your lucky (and desperately in need of washing) green socks. Maybe you're stressing out because it's Friday the 13th and your neighbor's black cat just darted past your bedroom window.
But what makes some people superstitious, while others can pay no mind to, say, being seated in row 13, or don't feel compelled to knock on wood after making a bold pronouncement? Here's what we know.
What is a superstition?
According to Psychology Today, being superstitious means behaving in a way that is either "based on fear of the unknown and/or faith in magic or luck." Superstitions can be culturally informed, the publication also notes, ranging from the evil eye amulets thought to ward off evil in countries like Turkey to the American notion that wishing on a star will bring good luck while opening an umbrella indoors will usher in misfortune.
How common is superstitious behavior?
Among Americans, it's rare to hold extremely superstitious beliefs, though polling shows that many people admit to believing at least some superstitions. In a 1996 Gallup poll, just 1% of Americans described themselves as "very" superstitious, while 24% said they were "somewhat" superstitious. Younger people were more likely to be superstitious than older respondents, and more than a quarter of those polled said they were superstitious about knocking on wood.
In a 2014 poll, 33% of American said they believed that finding and picking up a penny was good luck, and 24% considered it unlucky for a groom to see the bride before a wedding. Of those polled, 14% said they consider Friday the 13th to be an unlucky day.
More recently, a 2022 YouGov poll of 1,000 U.S. adults revealed that people were more likely to believe in good luck omens than those said to bring bad luck. More than a quarter of respondents believed in making a wish when blowing out birthday candles (28%), seeing a shooting star (28%) and telling someone "bless you" after they sneeze (27%). The most commonly believed bad luck superstition was walking under a ladder (21%) followed by breaking a mirror (21%) and the number 666 (21%). The poll also found that 12% of Americans always or frequently carry or wear a lucky charm of some sort. Catholics were most likely to identify as superstitious, according to the poll, which also found that 19% of people consider Friday the 13th unlucky.
What makes us superstitious?
Speaking to U.S. News & World Report in 2016, psychologist Stuart Vyse, author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, explained that superstitious people are raised, not born.
"Superstitions come from traditions and your upbringing — people teach you superstitions; you're not born believing in Friday the 13th or that if you step on a crack, you'll break your mother's back," Vyse explained. "They also come from the uncertainty of life — if you have something you desire that you cannot make sure will happen," leaning on superstitious behavior, like wearing your lucky tie to a job interview, can help you feel some semblance of control.
Superstitions can also bring comfort. A nervous flyer, for instance, might feel more confident mid-flight after performing their personal good luck ritual, like touching the plane or booking a seat in row 7.
"Superstitious behavior does help with anxiety," Vyse shared. "If you care very much about the outcome [of an event] but it's uncertain, just doing something makes you feel better even if it's unlikely to have a direct effect on the outcome."
Rational thinking tells us that your seat number has no bearing on whether or not the plane crashes, and crossing your fingers as little Joey goes up to bat isn't going to guarantee a home run. So what happens when all of our superstitions don't land us the job, or our team loses anyway?
That's where confirmation bias comes into play. As Verywell Mind notes, confirmation bias is a tendency to selectively prioritize information that supports our own beliefs. So one might focus on the times their team did win after following a superstitious ritual, or rationalize that perhaps that ritual wasn't performed properly.
In her 2015 paper Believing What We Don't Believe: Acquiescence to Superstitious Beliefs and Other Powerful Intuitions, behavioral scientist Jane Risen described this attempt to rationalize superstitions as "acquiescence." Rather than dismissing their superstitions when they clearly haven't panned out, some people tend to persist in their "magical" thinking. "Even when the conditions are all perfect for detecting an error — when people have the ability and motivation to be rational and when the context draws attention to the error — the magical intuition may still prevail," Risen explained.
That could be because of the benefits of holding superstitions. Along with reducing anxiety and offering a sense of control, superstitions have been shown to impact how people perform when they feel like they have the upper hand. According to research published in 2010, golfers who thought they were using a lucky ball showed less stress, more confidence and better performances, while even crossing one's fingers or being told "break a leg" can help put someone in a more successful mindset.
"Believing you are lucky can improve performance at a skilled task," Vyse told Business Insider in 2014.
But as psychologist Bruce Wilson wrote for Psychology Today this year, there are downsides, too. Relying too much on superstitions could increase anxiety in some situations. If you break a mirror on Friday the 13th, for example, that can bring distress. Similarly, the nervous flier who has to touch the plane as they board will no doubt be agitated during the flight if something prevents them from doing the ritual. In the extreme, superstitions can lead to obsessive-compulsive behavior, Wilson adds, or cause people to make decisions out of fear.
The takeaway
If you're still on alert, you're not alone. While there's no harm in avoiding things you perceive as unnecessary risks (like walking under a ladder), experts say it's important to avoid basing decisions on your perception of luck. Picking up a penny is fine; acting recklessly because you think luck is on your side is not. And if you do come across a black cat on Friday the 13th, try to not let it ruin your day.
This article was originally published on Oct. 16, 2023 and has been updated.
