An ancient Chinese superstition links the number four to death but how powerful is this superstition? A sociologist at the University of California called David Phillips once tested this.

After looking at over 47 million computerised death certificates, it was concluded that there were 13 per cent more deaths in Japanese and Chinese Americans caused by heart attack than expected.

These results were published in 2002 and the conclusion of this research was that superstitious beliefs can raise stress and anxiety levels.

The scientists who conducted this study found that if superstitions are hard-wired into the human brain, regardless of education level or ethnicity, they do have an affect on people. It is, in effect, unlucky to be superstitious!

Despite knowing deep down that some superstitions are irrational, people will instinctively turn to rituals or superstitious notions in particular in times when they fear a change of luck or where there is worry about the future. There are those who will not make a move unless performing a certain ritual. People in sports have been found to have superstitious tendencies, for instance a footballer always putting his shoes on right foot first and then the left or wearing the same socks match after match because those were the ones he was wearing when his team won at the start of the season.

Those who are mildly superstitious aren’t likely to see these beliefs having a major impact on their life. However, there are some who might find their superstitions affecting both their own and the lives of the people around them. Paraskevidekatriaphobia for instance is the fear of Friday 13th and some people will take this superstition so seriously that they will refuse to undertake anything that involves risk including travel on the 13th. Decisions like this based on a superstition are bound to affect their everyday routines. They might miss out on a great future opportunity for instance, by refusing to attend an important business meeting or interview just because it’s Friday 13th!

Many superstitions that can be linked to the past carry on to have influence today. These include expecting seven years bad luck if a mirror is broken, expecting bad luck if a black cat crosses your path and refusing to walk under ladders.

These superstitious notions seem sometimes to be so ingrained into our belief system that people automatically find themselves looking at a cracked mirror in horror and visualising years of misfortune ahead. Thank goodness common-sense will often prevail and the incident soon forgotten about!

Sources

David Philips on Superstition