Superstition Elevates Performance

By Religare

Thursday, June 17, 2010, 19:28

Superstition is something that is claimed to be practiced without being scientifically tested or at times termed as false belief. Believe it or not, a recent study says , believing in luck will strengthen your performance.

Scientists from the University of Cologne had conducted four experiments to test the result of belief in good-luck and superstitions. According to a website call PhysOrg.com, superstitions were tested to see whether or not they will enhance performance with the cognitive level like motor dexterity, memory, solving anagrams, or playing golf.

The experiments were conducted and showed that, the participants either brought their own lucky "charms,"and were given something they were told was lucky or had some other superstition-based encouragement.

The results found that in all four experiments, the participants who got a lucky charm or were given encouragement via a common superstitious saying excel significantly better than their control counterparts. Showing that participants performed better and quicker on motor dexterity tests, plus they had more confidence in their own abilities when asked beforehand how they thought they would work out.

This is the first time that research has found that superstitions intermingled with good luck have been explained to affect future performance beneficially, reports Discovery News.

The study has published online in the journal Psychological Science.