The rationality of the irrational

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All of us have been brought up with a set of superstitions. Stuff like, if a black cat crosses your path will bring bad luck. Keeping sharp objects or an onion under your pillow will ward off nightmares. Sweeping floors in the evening drives away the goddess of wealth from your home. Putting a black dot, preferably hidden, keeps “buri nazar” away.

A survey carried out by TeamLease Services, put 61 percent of Indian employees as superstitious. The survey, titled “Superstiotions@Workplace” covered 800 companies across the top eight cities in India, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune and Ahmedabad. But before you run down your fellow Indians for this irrational sentiment, take heart in knowing that superstitions are common phenomena across cultures.

Egyptian culture believed that black cats are evil creatures. Ancient Christianity declared the number 13 unlucky and big industries like airlines, hotels and real estate routinely skip the number from aisles, gates and floors. A vast majority of American students rely on good luck charms for better academic performance. Millions of people in China think the color red or the number 8 will bring them wealth and happiness. In fact, a study in Taiwan showed that shoppers tend to pay more money for fewer items in a package as long as the number of items in the package represents a “luckier” number. Numerology has always played a part in the lives of Oriental people. Japanese have a profound fondness for the number 5. What began as engaging all the 5 senses for a complete culinary experience is now seen across the industry of gifting crockery sets of 5 never 4. Because 4 sometimes pronounced shi, is the word for death.

I could go on and on about the insane number of superstitions that prevail over societies and cultures today but that is not the purpose of this blog. I find it fascinating that we often believe the unbelievable despite knowing at some level, that it’s just not true.

An article that appeared in the International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Science states, “Superstition has its roots in our species’ youth when our ancestors could not understand the forces and whims of the natural world. Survival of our ancestors was threatened by predation or other natural forces.” As a result, superstitions have evolved to produce a false sense of having control over outer conditions.

English poet John Clare wrote, “Superstitions live longer than books; it is engrafted on the human mind till it becomes a part of its existence; and is carried from generation to generation on the stream of eternity, with the proudest of fame, untroubled with the insect encroachments of oblivion which books are infested with.”

So where did superstitions come from?

It’s tricky to trace. Some are more historically grounded while others stem from religious rituals. A historical example can be traced back to Roman times when mirror used to be very expensive but brittle. To avoid negligence, the ancient people of Rome started preaching that breaking mirrors will bring 7 years of bad luck. We see it in practice even today, where most households remove a cracked or broken mirror or if unable to do so, cover it up to ward off bad luck. A religious example could be “Alakshmi”, the goddess of misfortune. Indians believe that can bring bad luck to shop owners or business. Since, she likes sour, pungent, hot things, shop owners hang lemon and 7 green chilies at their door so that the goddess can eat her favorite food, satisfy her hunger and leave without entering the shop or place of business.

Are some people prone to being more superstitious than others?

Certain groups have been obvious targets for research due to their famously superstitious nature – sportsmen, sailors, gamblers and students in the midst of exams. Yet research seeking clear-cut demographics for superstitious people has led to mixed results. It seems that women tend towards being more superstitious, and education leads to more skepticism; yet people with many years of education can still be superstitious. Those with lower self-efficacy tend towards superstition, and those with a more external locus of control and a propensity for pessimism are also more likely to have such beliefs.

But why are people superstitious?

Stuart Vyse, author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition suggests that superstitions give comfort, in the form of illusory control in situations where it may be lacking. He adds, “There is evidence that positive, luck-enhancing superstitions provide a psychological benefit that can improve skilled performance. There is anxiety associated with the kind of events that bring out superstition. The absence of control over an important outcome creates anxiety. So, even when we know on a rational level that there is no magic, superstitions can be maintained by their emotional benefit. Furthermore, once you know that a superstition applies, people don’t want to tempt fate by not employing it.” We have all experienced this in the form of chain messages on Whatsapp. As crazy as it is, many of us follow it despite our logical thinking.

But guess what, as irrational as superstitions and superstitious behavior sounds, there are benefits to it.

A series of experiments conducted in 2010 by Lysann Damisch and her colleagues found people who had a superstition activated before a task performed better. Chris French (Goldsmiths, University of London) agrees that a sports person’s rituals before a game may increase focus, and says the person may well feel anxious if they couldn’t carry out this ritual. ‘There is also evidence to suggest that superstitious thinking might provide a psychological defense against learned helplessness. In an apparently hopeless situation, a superstitious person is more likely to keep trying to achieve success than a non-superstitious person. If the situation changes in such a way that efforts to succeed suddenly become effective, the superstitious person is more likely to take advantage of this change.’

So superstitions seem to offer a benefit to people who use them, and presumably more so in those who truly believe in them.

Although there is no harm in having one or two superstitious beliefs or behavior, the problem comes when actions associated with superstitions become self-enforcing - in that the behavior becomes a habit and failure to perform the ritual can actually result in anxiety. This is even though the actual outcome of an event or situation is still dependent on known factors – rather than unknown supernatural forces. Think of Groucho Marx the next time a black feline crosses your path signifying "that the animal is going somewhere", that's all.