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https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/45507/archive/files/5b659ba136aff7c49d6b2e25c702d934.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=Uxp5DuTmptbdiDe5m0rteumQ31cnNhqkOzzeYD9JfNlucPo4JIc-8-gEWMrgS62Yl7D%7ERVybn3cuYVKZ050tPR9fdm-yP92QengAgj-9r1b0Er-OqDhS3uTTNqvZrNZviRUwtVGulul1N1kPs2fQk3jsTNcjN3vK00un%7E3TCYu6mJTj4EZSayfBJtAinXGllVOtX6gXO9kUJc1NmgEfxXUgbNnShFKb3xKqOy0qzezftiPb9DilYu68b2pPfoy2dNQo1XkenuAFdmvAtmAeNcy71zTn-v2k--smz6jdJkOMG5c9NBDZwwf2XVk1h7nmY0FJiEfT-fgnGfEIWTmH5Mw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
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Sports and Psychology: Uncovering Superstitions in Sports
By Joe Passero
Rider University Class of 2021
INTRODUCTION
●
●
Superstitious beliefs are not and
were never uncommon
This study was meant to
identify what helps lead to
superstitions as well as what
reinforces them
SUPERSTITIONS
●
●
●
SUPERSTITIONS IN FANS
●
sitting in the same seat for each
event, wearing a specific jersey,
shirt, hat, or other piece of
team-related clothing, swapping
out those clothes if something bad
happens to their team, using a
special mug for coffee, etc.
Dual process model of cognition two systems in brain that may or
may not engage
“Fast” thinking - instinctive,
impulsive, and concise
“Slow” thinking - rational,
thought-out decisions and plans
STUDY
●
●
197 people between the ages of 18
and 85 in ~10 countries
participated in survey
Fans were asked to provide their
superstitious routines, sports they
follow, and demographic
information.
SUPERSTITIONS IN ATHLETES
●
●
●
●
Dale Earnhardt’s and Austin
Dillon’s lucky pennies
Tiger Woods’ red polos
Michael Jordan’s UNC Shorts
Despite losing many times while
carrying out superstitious rituals
out, some of these athletes didn’t
stop their rituals.
FINDINGS/CONCLUSION
●
●
No evidence that superstitious
rituals have direct effects on
performance and event outcomes
There appears to be a desire by
some fans and athletes alike to
have any existing competitive edge
in their or their team’s favor to
influence the outcome of events.
�
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/45507/archive/files/f112ba675c7a958e87a9e91d335e8534.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=Zst-FverqEKFokyI6ys1Xc0k%7ELhHM3BlooSJRO8h5Q8mDAgDoahvbzIDfW5SvkKpQYzeZzOHKm3-r8aALWfsy7lFL-ac890rmF0LN96pTs2BJMxHEq28awtuI4a6-H45w-jdjNCSxcg6aAGokbacJCt2PQuQSxssXKHnNs%7EJzc8p74m2M0kLZlgAfHE9QBeykCroC3%7EhUx8s3-AU9uOufrrfjiC1sp%7E25VFK5EnsX3GKIBarTqssNgrF79hynylrTNVAx1i1rbSZDBw7SRTOV8VEpAbZR8wcNEuJsXLr3vyNUY0NUMMvVh0Xr%7Ei%7Eu1iWX4y%7ET1q9Nfj4aHdX%7EGe%7Emg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
af080beebcc3f6cff55582518d08ca68
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Text
Rider University
Sports and Psychology
Uncovering Superstitions in Sports
Joseph Passero
Baccalaureate Honors Program Capstone - BHP 499
Professor Bausman
December 15, 2020
�Passero 1
I.
Introduction
Sports have evolved from a pastime to a way of life for millions of people around the
globe. Fans invest hours upon hours to dedicate themselves to the sport or sports they love so
much. Athletes have dedicated more time to their respective sports as well, now that the level of
competition across the board is greater than ever before. This has driven fans and athletes to find
a little extra good luck where they can, even in the most ridiculous places. These are where
superstitions come in.
Superstitious beliefs are not and were never uncommon. Most people believe that seeing
a black cat, breaking a mirror, opening an umbrella indoors or picking up a penny tails-up will
bring them bad luck. It isn’t much different among sports fans, where some people believe
wearing a certain jersey will bring their team the luck that’s needed to win.
Why do fans and athletes believe in superstitions? This study below identifies what helps
lead to superstitions, as well as what reinforces them. Those concepts will then be applied to the
world of sports using both athletes and fans as examples to help explain what could be going on
when they take part in superstitious activities.
II.
Superstitions
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a superstitious belief or behavior is defined
as “A widely held, but irrational, belief in supernatural influences, especially as leading to good
or bad luck, or a practice based on such a belief,” (Oxford). Yet, superstitions become
personalized and unique. While it is believed by some that superstitious activities have an impact
on an outcome, that thought is believed to be false.
�Passero 2
So what makes humans superstitious? One of the keys we need to analyze to unlock this
answer lies within ritual. Rituals are actions that we repeat because of a symbolic value
(Whitbourne). Praying to a deity every night before dinner or working out every morning are
rituals. A ritual, however, can become a superstitious action once you start taking that action and
associating it with a certain outcome (Whitbourne). Another notable difference between
superstitions and rituals is that “‘superstitions emerge as a result of uncertainty to
circumstances that are inherently random or uncontrollable,’” would imply that there is
something subconscious that triggers these superstitions while rituals are conducted consciously
and by choice (Maranise).
Oftentimes, the action doesn’t even have an effect on the event a person is trying to
influence. If you go to work out to the gym everyday and leave at exactly 2 p.m. because you
think leaving at that time is somehow going to make you rich, it just makes no sense. If you
break a mirror, you’re probably going to get a few cuts, but it’s impossible that the action of
breaking a mirror actually causes bad luck of any kind.
There’s more than what meets the eye with superstitious actions, however. Some
scientists and psychologists, like Jane Risen, have used a concept known as the dual process
model of cognition in order to help us understand what’s going on in our minds when we take
part in superstitious behavior (Medical News Today). Risen explains that humans have the ability
to think “fast” and the ability to think “slow.” Fast thinking makes humans instinctive, impulsive,
and concise, while slow thinking allows humans to make rational, thought-out decisions and
plans (Risen). Risen describes the brain as having two systems. In the first system, which she
calls the magical intuition or the superstitious activity, is engaged by the brain using fast
�Passero 3
thinking. After that, should the brain continue to think fast (Risen refers to this as “does not
engage” in her study), System Two of the brain will continue to rationalize the reasoning behind
the superstitious activity. In the event System Two does engage and begins to think slow, the
brain will override or correct the superstitious action (Risen.) System One can be influenced by
factors like confirmation bias, which is “the tendency to search for and favor evidence that
supports current beliefs and ignore or dismiss evidence that does not,” and causal intuition,
which is making a prediction that a certain result will warrant a certain outcome (Risen). Both
confirmation bias and causal intuition provoke fast thinking, and if System Two does not engage,
that may only worsen the future effects of a person’s superstitions. Some factors which influence
whether System Two engages include the ability to be rational, motivation to be rational, and
contextual clues (Risen). Risen states the ability to be rational may correlate with how educated
an individual is. In theory, the more educated a person is, the less likely they are to believe in
“magical thinking.” With motivation to be rational, individuals can actually overcome their
superstitious thoughts almost on their own. This “motivation” can vary from person to person,
including the uses of instruction, incentives, moods and cognitive difficulties. Finally, reviewing
the processes completed and using contextual clues to recognize errors can also override magical
thinking. None of these, however, are guaranteed to occur, and if they do not, System Two will
not engage and the individual will continue to support their superstitious thinking.
Using this information, we will analyze superstitions in sports, both through athletes and
fans, to better understand what may be going on inside their brain that creates their superstitious
thinking.
�Passero 4
III.
Sports
Superstitions in Athletes
Case Study - Dale Earnhardt’s Lucky Penny
By the late 1990s, Dale Earnhardt was a household name in sports. Earnhardt’s reign in
the NASCAR Winston Cup Series helped the sport grow in popularity, but the seven-time series
champion just couldn’t seem to find any luck in winning the first and biggest race of the
NASCAR Winston Cup season, the Daytona 500. Earnhardt had accomplished everything else
possible, but for 19 years, Earnhardt couldn’t find his way to victory lane. In 1990, Earnhardt hit
a seagull during the race and blew a tire going into the final corners of the race, handing the race
lead and win to Derrick Cope. In 1993, Earnhardt had the dominant car, but was passed by Dale
Jarrett with just a few laps remaining. In 1997, Earnhardt was running second, stalking race
leader Bill Elliott with just a handful of laps remaining when contact with Jeff Gordon sent
Earnhardt’s black number 3 car airborne, and Earnhardt tumbled. Heading into his 20th attempt
of the Daytona 500, Earnhardt was coming off of one of his worst seasons in his career. The
1997 season had ended a streak of 15 consecutive years with at least one win per season for
Earnhardt … so what made 1998 different?
Days before the 40th annual Daytona 500 kicked off the 1998 Winston Cup Series
campaign, Earnhardt found himself in a Daytona International Speedway administration
building, per the request of 6-year-old Wessa Miller (Crossman). Wessa was born with spina
bifida, which is a birth defect that prevents the proper development of the spinal cord. Juanita,
Wessa’s mother, reached out to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, in hopes that her daughter would
�Passero 5
be granted her one wish to meet racing’s biggest star. When they met, Wessa gave Earnhardt a
small but powerful gift: her lucky penny.
Earnhardt glued the penny to his car’s dashboard, and that Sunday, Earnhardt led 107 of
the race’s 200 laps and captured his first and only Daytona 500 win (Crossman).
According to Jane Risen’s study, Earnhardt would have had System One engaged when
he received Wessa’s penny. His fast-thinking would have engaged System One of the brain’s two
systems. Winning the Daytona 500 with the penny would have only worsened Earnhardt’s
superstitious belief that the penny helped him because winning the race served as the
confirmation bias that blocked System Two from engaging and overriding Earnhardt’s fast
thinking.
After each Daytona 500, the winning car stays on display at Daytona International
Speedway in the condition it leaves Victory Lane in. No reports are confirmed, but rumors
among other NASCAR teams swarmed that after the Daytona 500, Earnhardt had asked
NASCAR officials if he could take the penny with him, but NASCAR denied Earnhardt his
wish. Clearly, the penny left a superstitious impression on Earnhardt, because he failed to win
any of the 32 races following the Daytona 500 in the 1998 season, and he never won the Daytona
500 again.
After Earnhardt died in a wreck in the 2001 Daytona 500, the No. 3 car was not raced in
the NASCAR Cup Series until 2014 when Austin Dillon began driving in the Cup Series. Dillon
had been in Victory Lane with Earnhardt when he won the 1998 event, and is the grandson of the
car owner of Earnhardt’s car. In 2018 - 20 years after Earnhardt got his lucky penny - Austin
Dillon got one of his own from a fan (Friedlander). Dillon won the 2018 Daytona 500 just days
�Passero 6
later with that penny in his car, which left many people wondering what it was about the pennies
that helped Earnhardt and Dillon win the Daytona 500 and proved how superstitious thinking can
lead to both successes and failures.
Earnhardt’s superstitious belief is one of many in sports. Before Michael Jordan was the
owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and NASCAR’s 23XI Racing, before he became an NBA
legend, and before he stepped foot onto a court for his first professional basketball game, “His
Airness” was a Tar Heel. Jordan played as a member of the University of North Carolina Tar
Heels from 1981 to 1984. He was a part of the 1982 NCAA championship-winning lineup for the
Tar Heels, which was a moment that seemed to stick with Jordan. After being drafted to the
Chicago Bulls in 1984, Jordan began to wear his practice shorts from the 1982 Tar Heels
championship season underneath his Bulls shorts (Jones).
PGA Tour golfer Tiger Woods is known for his many achievements in the links. With 82
wins in the PGA Tour, he’s tied for the most all-time on the Tour, which includes 15 major
championships, second only to Jack Nicklaus with 18 majors. Very few things have stayed the
same over the course of Woods’ career, but one thing that has stayed consistent is his red polos.
Anytime you see Woods in a commercial or if you look him up online, he almost always
has a red polo of some kind on. This is no coincidence, as Woods has been wearing red on
Sundays since his junior golfing days (Jackson). The college he attended, Stanford University,
wore red on their final days of events as well, and he kept the superstitious tradition alive as he
entered the PGA Tour. Woods has also been known to keep three tees in his right front pocket
and his yardage book in his right rear pocket at all times while playing (Weinman).
�Passero 7
In Jordan and Woods’ cases, their superstitious beliefs and actions were different from
Earnhardt’s in that their actions lasted over the entirety of their careers. Where Earnhardt’s
one-time superstition did seem to have some type of impact, Woods and Jordan still lost while
taking part in their superstitious actions, which raises the question as to why their fast, impulsive
thinking continued to occur even when their superstitious acts were disproven. Jane Risen’s
study suggests that in theory, because their superstitions did not work, System Two should have
engaged and slowed the thinking of both superstars. However, it is possible that Jordan and
Woods lacked the motivation to be rational. If they wanted to be rational, they would have
realized that, by losing any number of games or matches, that their superstitions were disproven
and they wouldn’t continue to put the effort into executing their rituals. It’s possible that both
athletes felt that they needed some type of extra good-luck charm to keep their high levels of
overall success. This would rationalize the athletes’ lack of motivation to be rational, which
would in turn explain why Woods and Jordan never gave up their rituals.
Another possible explanation for these elite athletes not giving up their superstitious
rituals is that it made the athletes feel more in control of their event’s outcome. A study
conducted by Universite Libre de Bruxelles found that athletes' “ritual commitment was found to
be greater when uncertainty and importance were greater,” (Brevers et al). The study also found
that the feeling of having control over the outcome of an event acts as a placebo, which helps
ease mental tension within the athlete (Brevers et al). There was no mention about how these
rituals did or did not actually affect the in-game performance of the athlete, but because athletes
have direct effects in their sport, it is possible that their superstitious rituals could actually impact
the outcome of a game. This would require a new sector of research that has yet to be conducted.
�Passero 8
Superstitions in Sports Fans
Athletes aren’t the only superstitious figures in sports. In fact, many sports fans are
superstitious. A survey was conducted in conjunction with the execution of this paper in an effort
to understand sports fans’ superstitions. The survey was conducted during the COVID-19
lockdown in which sporting events were not being held. This eight-question survey was issued to
participants online through platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Reddit. Respondents were
asked about their age, gender, area of residence, what sports they regularly follow, and how
much time they spent consuming sports media per week. These questions were asked not only to
accumulate information, but to find correlations between demographic factors and fans’
superstitions.
Altogether, 197 people between the ages of 18 and 85 participated in the survey from the
United States, Canada, France, England, and other countries. Of the participants, 94 stated that
they are not superstitious under any circumstances. 52 participants stated they consider
themselves to be superstitious under most or all circumstances, and an additional 41 people said
they consider themselves superstitious only pertaining to sports. The final 10 respondents said
that while they do have superstitious beliefs, that does not pertain to the sports they follow (A
full list of questions can be found in the appendix).
Participants were then asked to identify which sports they followed on a regular basis,
which could include multiple sports. Motorsports was the most followed with a total of 77.7% of
respondents keeping regularly up-to-date with various sports like NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1,
�Passero 9
IMSA and motorcycle racing. Professional American football was the next most watched sport at
71.6% (Passero). The remainder of followed sports by respondents is as follows:
● Professional baseball (55.8%)
● College football (42.6%)
● Ice hockey (41.6%)
● College basketball (31.5%)
● Professional basketball (29.9%)
● Soccer (20.3%)
● Golf (18.3%)
● College baseball (10.7%)
● High school sports (10.2%)
● Other college sports (4.6%)
● Volleyball (4.1%)
● Bowling (4.1%)
● Softball (3.6%)
● Esports (1.0%)
● Field hockey (0.5%)
● UFC (0.5%)
● No sports at all (0.5%)
Of the respondents who stated that they have superstitions, the most superstitious group
were those who follow motorsports with 57 respondents having some type of superstition related
�Passero 10
to it. The next largest group was professional American football fans, with 52 respondents being
superstitious (Passero).
Fans were then asked to provide their superstitious routines. Many people had between
one to three rituals which they performed before, during, or after a sporting event, which
included the following: sitting in the same seat for each event, wearing a specific jersey, shirt,
hat, or other piece of team-related clothing, swapping out those clothes if something bad happens
to their team, using a special mug for coffee, watching less than the full-game broadcast on
television, repeating certain chants and phrases, not speaking about something they foresee as a
positive thing while it’s in progress (i.e. no-hitters, perfect race, etc.), listening to certain music
before the game, praying, and eating specific meals (Passero).
One respondent elaborated on his superstitions. Erik Johnsen, a 20-year-old male from
northern New Jersey, follows motorsports, professional American football, professional baseball,
and ice hockey. Johnsen said he didn’t have any superstitions regarding three of those sports, but
he listed a number of them when it came to football and his favorite team, the Minnesota Vikings
(Johnsen).
“There was a stretch of games that our team kept losing,” Johnsen said. “There was a day
that my dad and I just said ‘We need to do something different.’ We switched where we were
sitting and the Vikings won. We wore the same stuff and sat in the same spot and they won for
three straight weeks.”
Johnsen also explained that his and his father’s superstitions go even further. They watch
the same pregame show every week, they turn on the radio broadcast of the game, they aren’t
�Passero 11
allowed to miss a game, and they don’t get out of their seats until the game is over. Johnsen said
that this has been a trend for the last decade in his house (Johnsen).
Probably like many superstitious fans, Johnsen’s fast thinking was given the confirmation
bias he had been hoping for, being that his team won the next three straight games. But Johnsen’s
and every other fan’s superstitions all have one thing in common: none of them impact any
sporting event in any way, shape, or form.
IV.
Conclusion
Sports-specific superstitions are a psychological phenomenon that should be studied more
over time. As sports continue to be a very profitable business as well as a platform for messages
of justice for the world in a politically heated time, the world will continue to try to fully
understand just how sports psychology, including superstitions, come to be.
Despite the persistence of fans and athletes, there is no evidence that superstitious rituals
have direct effects on performance and event outcomes, even as these rituals continue to be
practiced. However, there appears to be a desire by some fans and athletes alike to have any
existing competitive edge in their or their team’s favor to influence the outcome that is wanted. It
could explain why athletes like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, as well as fans like Erik
Johnsen, continue to practice superstitious rituals even after losing and disproving the
effectiveness of the rituals. Superstitious beliefs and rituals will continue to be a part of people’s
lives no matter what it pertains to or where they are located around the world so long as there is a
desire to take part in the activity and to have a competitive advantage.
�Passero 12
Works Cited
Brevers, Damien, et al. “Psychological Placebo: Do Superstitious Rituals Have a Purpose in
Sport?” Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, vol. 33, no. 5, 2011, p. 744. APA
PsycInfo,
https://rider.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&
db=psyh&AN=2011-23068-010&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 16 March 2021.
Crossman, Matt. "Twenty Years Later, the Impact of a Penny Felt Far and Wide."
NASCAR.com, NASCAR Digital Media, 15 Feb. 2018,
www.nascar.com/news-media/2018/02/15/twenty-years-later-impact-penny-felt-far-wide/
. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.
Friedlander, Brett. "History Repeats Itself at Daytona, Right down to a Lucky Penny." North
State Journal, North State Media, 21 Feb. 2018,
nsjonline.com/article/2018/02/history-repeats-itself-at-daytona-right-down-to-a-lucky-pe
nny/. Accessed 26 Jan. 2021.
Jackson, Russell. "The Joy of Six: Athletes' Superstitions." The Guardian, Guardian News &
Media, 11 Aug. 2014,
www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/aug/12/the-joy-of-six-athletes-superstitions.
Accessed 26 Jan. 2021.
Johnsen, Erik. Videoconference interview. 14 Jan. 2021.
Jones, Colton. "Knock on Hardwood: NBA Players a Superstitious Lot." Sports Illustrated,
�Passero 13
www.si.com/nba/cavaliers/nba-amico/basketball-superstitions-throughout-history.
Accessed 26 Jan. 2021.
Maranise, Anthony M. J. “Superstition & Religious Ritual: An Examination of Their Effects and
Utilization in Sport.” The Sport Psychologist, vol. 27, no. 1, Mar. 2013, pp. 83–91.
EBSCOhost,
rider.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ps
yh&AN=2013-09160-009&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Medical News Today. Healthline Media UK, 13 Sept. 2019,
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326330. Accessed 26 June 2020.
Passero, Joseph. “Sports Superstitions.” Google Forms, June 5 2020. Google Forms, June 24
2020.
Risen, Jane L. "Believing What We Do Not Believe: Acquiescence to Superstitious Beliefs and
Other Powerful Intuitions." Psychological Review, vol. 123, no. 2, 2016, pp. 182-207,
www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/rev-0000017.pdf. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.
"Superstition." Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, www.oed.com/view/Entry/
194517?redirectedFrom=superstition#eid. Accessed 9 Sept. 2020.
Weinman, Sam. "Here Are a Few of Tiger Woods' Fairly Odd Superstitions." Golf Digest,
Discovery Golf, 12 Feb. 2019,
www.golfdigest.com/story/here-are-a-few-of-tiger-woods-fairly-odd-superstitions.
Accessed 26 Jan. 2021.
Whitbourne, Susan Krauss. "Why We're So Superstitious." Psychology Today, Sussex
�Passero 14
Publishers, 14 Oct. 2014,
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201410/why-were-so-superstitio
us. Accessed 26 June 2020.
Appendix
Passero, Joseph. “Sports Superstitions.” Google Forms, June 5 2020. Google Forms, June 24
2020. This survey included the following questions:
1. What sports do you watch? Check all that Apply
a. American Football (NFL, XFL, etc.)
b. Soccer
c. Baseball
d. Ice hockey
e. Motorsports (NASCAR, IMSA, IndyCar, etc.)
f. Field Hockey
g. Professional Basketball
h. Softball
i. Volleyball
j. Bowling
k. Golf
l. College Football
m. College Basketball
n. College Baseball
o. Other College Sports
�Passero 15
p. High School Sports
q. None
r. Other [answer here]
2. Do you consider yourself a superstitious person?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Yes, but not with sports
d. Yes, but only with sports
3. Of the sports you watch, which sports do you have superstitions with?
a. American Football (NFL, XFL, etc.)
b. Soccer
c. Baseball
d. Ice hockey
e. Motorsports (NASCAR, IMSA, IndyCar, etc.)
f. Field Hockey
g. Professional Basketball
h. Softball
i. Volleyball
j. Bowling
k. Golf
l. College Football
m. College Basketball
�Passero 16
n. College Baseball
o. Other College Sports
p. High School Sports
q. None
r. Other [answer here]
4. What are some of your superstitious traditions? (i.e. wearing a certain hat on gameday,
eating a certain meal before a game, etc.)
a. [Answer here]
5. What is your gender?
a. Female
b. Male
c. Prefer not to say
d. Other [answer here]
6. What is your age?
a. 18-25 years old
b. 26-34 years old
c. 35-45 years old
d. 45-55 years old
e. 56-70 years old
f. 70-85 years old
g. 86 years old or older
7. What region do currently reside? (i.e. Southwestern USA, Northeastern Canada, etc.)
�Passero 17
a. [Answer here]
8. How much sports media (TV, radio, podcasts, reading articles, etc.) did you consume per
day, on average, before sports paused due to COVID-19?
a. Less than 1 hour
b. 1 to 2 hours
c. 2 to 3 hours
d. 3 to 4 hours
e. 4 to 6 hours
f. more than 6 hours
�
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Baccalaureate Honors Program (BHP) Capstones
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<p class="p1">Sports and Psychology Uncovering Superstitions in Sports</p>
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<p><span style="font-weight:400;">Sports have evolved from a pastime to a way of life for millions of people around the globe. Fans invest hours upon hours to dedicate themselves to the sport or sports they love so much. Athletes have dedicated more time to their respective sports as well, now that the level of competition across the board is greater than ever before. This has driven fans and athletes to find a little extra good luck where they can, even in the most ridiculous places. These are where superstitions come in.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">Superstitious beliefs are not and were never uncommon. Most people believe that seeing a black cat, breaking a mirror, opening an umbrella indoors or picking up a penny tails-up will bring them bad luck. It isn’t much different among sports fans, where some people believe wearing a certain jersey will bring their team the luck that’s needed to win. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">Why do fans and athletes believe in superstitions? This study below identifies what helps lead to superstitions, as well as what reinforces them. Those concepts will then be applied to the world of sports using both athletes and fans as examples to help explain what could be going on when they take part in superstitious activities.</span></p>
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Passero, Joseph
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Rider University
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Bausman, Charles
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Baccalaureate Honors Program
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Adobe Acrobat PDF
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English
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2021