Victor Guan
We’ve all done it, whether it be avoiding the cracks on the pavement so as not to ‘break our mother’s back’ or crossing our fingers for ‘good luck’ before a big fixture. Often these small, seemingly irrational tendencies are disregarded, yet they have substantial influence within culture and society. Superstition is defined as an irrational belief in the significance or magical efficacy of certain objects or events. These tendencies are often polarising in society, as they reflect deep cognitive dissonance and can expose vulnerability. However, this can be unpicked to show why these ritualistic acts that can go against all rational parts of humans are not, in fact, so irrational.
A superstition’s evolutionary use can be depicted fundamentally through the benefit of rare occasions when it provides a favourable outcome out of the numerous times a superstition is acted out. This in turn further ingrains certain ritualistic behaviours as necessary in some cultures as they developed. The pattern-seeking behaviour at play here is responsible for giving justification and can therefore directly affect future responses. For example, a tribe that assigns certain plants as taboo would benefit if one of those plants turned out to be poisonous and was empirically shown to harm humans. This reinforces their superstition that certain plants were impure in some way – even if all other plants were not harmful – as the resulting outcome of the superstition would be aiding survival. The pattern recognition in humans associated with the learning of superstitions challenges claims of irrationality, instead indicating the strong cognitive grounding that has historically aided survival.
In Victorian Britain, superstitions were viewed as vanishing remnants of a primitive past, with these collectively including everything from seasonal rituals to beliefs in supernatural beings. For example, parts of Europe have held beliefs that a horseshoe hung above a door would ward off evil spirits – witches and demons. This belief was rooted in traditional folklore which stated ‘cold’ iron to have supernatural power. A modern interpretation of this also exists as the superstition of ‘good luck horseshoes’. These traditions were understood as the ‘debris’ of mythology and pagan religion but, in reality, were preserved traces of Britain’s medieval church influence. In Japan, the Ainu people are and example of superstitions heavily impacting identity as their belief of spirits (Kamuy) is central to their way of life.
Without these superstitions, elements of culture and identity would be lost and the traditions of societies would disintegrate.
Its phonetic similarity to the Chinese word for death has led to a deep tradition of avoidance; this results in many buildings and elevators removing the fourth floor. The fundamental psychological effect of the superstition is triggered through fear from cognitive biases and associative behaviours. The pattern-seeking mind produces this effect, as causal connections can be drawn, even if there is no connective relationship. The emotional regulatory element of human psychology can also be triggered, as superstitions can be a tool to reduce anxiety in uncertainty through the façade of control; one might feel more comforted in an elevator without the floor 4 button bringing the element of death due to the ritualistic avoidance functioning as a psychological buffer that reinforces a sense of control over misfortune. It is important to note the dangers of influential superstitions, as such, as they can be argued to reinforce irrational prejudices that undermine societal structure and democracy, plus produce harmful scepticism – specifically in healthcare advancement. In a 2023 study conducted in the World Affairs academic journal, political tensions and distrust, in addition to anti-democratic support, were linked to superstitious beliefs in Germany. This association reflected a positive relationship of superstitions with anti-Semitic views, which presents dangers for societal development. The dangers of superstition in Nigeria, specifically in healthcare development, are largely due to lingering beliefs of the supernatural and increased scepticism of preventative medicine from traditions of associated bad luck with certain medical practices. Thus, healthcare and quality of life development can suffer. Despite this, superstitions can still be seen to push human experience for the better, as it fosters widespread emotional regulation and social cohesion.
It is clear that superstitions will continue to influence human existence – whether as pillars of tradition or as rituals of bias – due to the persistent psychological urge to remove uncertainty. Ideally these evolutionary influences should be refined and utilised in a way that removes harmful cognitive dissonance in order to further improve human awareness and efficiency in thought.
The adaptive needs that superstitions provide for, which embed themselves into everyday decisions, mean that they should not be disregarded as irrational but instead, understood as powerful tools that have historically aided survival and which continue to give comforting control and practical confidence.
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Ox.ac.uk. (2025). The evolution of superstitious and superstition-like behaviour.
Walsham, A. (2008). Recording Superstition in Early Modern Britain: The Origins of Folklore.
Pelizzo and Kuzenbayev (2023). Study Highlights Dangers of Superstitious Beliefs.
Ajose, O.A. (1957). Preventive Medicine and Superstition in Nigeria.
