We examined the use of superstitious behavior by major league baseball players in the United States and Japan. The majority of professional players in both countries reported using superstitiousbehaviorsbut expressed little confidence that thebehavioractuallyaffectedoutcomes.Consistent with the uncertainty hypothesis, the more players believed luck affected outcomes during the game, the more th...

Psychological research documents that individuals are more likely to resort to superstitious practices when operating in environments dominated by uncertainty, high stakes, and perceived lack of control over the outcomes. Based on these findings, we suggest that the stock market represents an ideal breeding ground for superstition and then test whether superstition-induced behavior affects inve...

We explore superstitious beliefs as a basis of product performance expectations and their impact on initial purchase likelihood and subsequent satisfaction. In doing so, we demonstrate instances when superstitiondriven expectations cause consumers to make purchase decisions that run counter to economic rationality. In the first set of studies we find that Taiwanese consumers are relatively more...

It has been speculated that superstitiousness and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) exist along a continuum. The distinction between superstitious behavior and superstitious belief, however, is crucial for any theoretical account of claimed associations between superstitiousness and OCD. By demonstrating that there is a dichotomy between behavior and belief, which is experimentally testable, ...

INTRODUCTION Singaporeans are superstitious, and medical staff are no exception to the rule. We conducted a survey to determine the prevalence of superstitious beliefs and practices amongst doctors, nurses and medical students in Singapore. METHODS Internet and face-to-face surveys of 68 respondents, all of whom completed the survey after being threatened with curses and hexes. RESULTS Sixt...

We investigate whether superstitious beliefs held directly by only a fraction of the population affect market equilibrium. Using data from multiracial Singapore, we find that apartments whose unit numbers end with 8, an auspicious number for Chinese, are sold at 0.9% premium, whereas those that end with 4, an inauspicious number for Chinese, are sold at 1.5% discount. The discount for inauspici...