Loss of Control Can Make You Superstitious

Paranoia, superstitions, and conspiracy theories may result from our need to take control of chaotic moments in our lives. Psychologists Jennifer Whitson and Adam Galinsky proposed in the current issue of Science that "when individuals are unable to gain a sense of control objectively, they will try to gain it perceptually." For example, if your productivity and competence at work are unappreciated and unrewarded, you may feel powerless over the situation. As a result, you might associate random, unrelated events with positive or negative moments at work. You could start seeing nonexistent conspiracy theories against your success, feel paranoia toward your coworkers, and perform good luck rituals to have better days.

In a series of six experiments, Whitson and Galinsky attempted to directly correlate lack of control with illusory perceptions. In the first two, they were able to establish that participants will seek patterns to compensate for unmanageable conditions. To simulate lack-of-control circumstances, they gave volunteers random feedback that was unrelated to their responses. Participants lacking control saw more nonexistent images in pictures and scored higher on the Personal Need for Structure Scale than those who were not treated to random feedback.

Superstitions and good luck rituals may also result from the human need for control. Whitson and Galinsky presented participants three scenarios that each contained two unconnected events, like "knocking on wood before an important meeting and getting one's idea approved." Participants who were asked to remember uncontrolled situations from the past saw more connection between the unrelated events and thought that good luck actions were important in the future.

The relationship between control and false perceptions can be applied to a volatile stock market, as well. Whitson and Galinsky offered two companies to participants after giving them performance statements about each company. The percent of positive statements was the same for both companies, but the total quantity was different. Company A had eight negative and 16 positive statements, while company B had four negative and eight positive statements. Participants were asked to recall how many negative statements there were for each company after making a choice. In an unstable market, 75 percent of participants chose company A over B. They remembered more negativity toward company B because they "overestimated the infrequent type of information (negative) with the infrequently represented group (company B)."

Self-affirmation appears to combat the disorderly feeling from losing control. After lack-of-control conditioning, participants who self-affirmed saw just as few imaginary patterns in pictures as volunteers who were not treated to any type of conditioning.

The next time you feel control sliding away, it may help to remind yourself of all the positive qualities that you possess. Self-affirmation procedures can provide a sense of control that is healthier than illusory pattern seeking. Whitson and Galinsky write that psychological security "reduce the obsessive-compulsive tendencies or sinister attributions engendered by seeing too much meaning and intentions in others' innocuous behaviors."