Abstract
Superstitions and the placebo effect have each been found to influence human behaviour. The present study aimed to determine whether there is a relationship between superstition and the placebo effect, and whether this relationship affects human cognition and behaviour. We hypothesized that more superstitious people would be more prone to the placebo effect and that it would improve their performance on cognitive tasks. Results showed that in the placebo condition, more superstitious people memorized more words than less superstitious people. However, in the control condition, less superstitious people memorized more words than more superstitious people. Overall, the findings supported our hypothesis. The findings of the study are important, as they draw a link between the placebo effect and superstition, and further show that these two elements impact human performance in cognitive ability tasks.
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Dr. SA conceptualised the project, directed the project, analysed data, wrote and edited the paper. Ms. VDM conducted participants, the literature review and the literature search and contributed to writing. Ms. AS conducted participants and contributed to writing.
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Dr. Sieun An, Ms. Viraj Dhiren Malani and Ms. Aanchal Setia declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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An, S., Malani, V.D. & Setia, A. The role of superstition in the placebo effect on memory performance. Cogn Process 22, 553–558 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-021-01025-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-021-01025-6