Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Superstitious Location Changes By Human Beings

  • Article
  • Published:
The Psychological Record Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This experiment determined whether superstitious spatial variability would occur when experimental contingencies specified only the numerical dimensions of behavior. Six college students participated in a task in which icon changes were contingent on depressions of a button. A randomly selected number of unavoidable failures to change the icons alternated across the experiment with blocks of five consecutive unavoidable successes. Unnecessary changes in the location of the cursor persisted for three participants at high frequency after failures of button depressions to change the icons. The findings were related to discussions about the prevalence and functions of superstition in the variation and selection of human behavior.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • ANTONITIS, J. J. (1951). Response variability in the white rat during conditioning, extinction, and reconditioning. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 42, 273–281.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • BOREN, J. J., & DEVINE, D. D. (1968). The repeated acquisition of behavioral chains. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 11, 651–660.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • BOREN, L. J., MOERSCHBAECHER, J. M., & WHYTE, A. A. (1978). Variability of response location on fixed-ratio and fixed-interval schedules of reinforcement. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 30, 63–67.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • BRUNER, A., & REVUSKY, S. H. (1961). Collateral behavior in humans. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 4, 349–350.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • CATANIA, A. C., & CUTTS, D. (1963). Experimental control of superstitious responding in humans. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 6, 203–208.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • CERUTTI, D. T. (1991). Discriminative versus reinforcing properties of schedules as determinants of schedule insensitivity in humans. The Psychological Record, 41, 51–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DONAHOE, J. W., BURGOS, J. E., & PALMER, D. C. (1993). A selectionist approach to reinforcement. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 60, 17–40.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • ECKERMAN, D. A., & LANSON, R. N. (1969). Variability of response location for pigeons responding under continuous reinforcement, intermittent reinforcement, and extinction. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 12, 73–80.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • ELDRIDGE, G. D., PEAR, J. L., TORGRUD, L. J., & EVERS, B. H. (1988). Effects of prior response-contingent reinforcement on superstitious behavior. Animal Learning and Behavior, 16, 277–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EPSTEIN, R. (1985). The spontaneous interconnection of three repertoires. The Psychological Record, 35, 131–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FENNER, D. (1980). The role of contingencies and ‘principles of behavioral variation’ in pigeons’ pecking. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 34, 1–12.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • GLEESON, S., LATTAL, K. A., & WILLIAMS, K. S. (1989). Superstitious conditioning: A replication and extension of Neuringer (1970). The Psychological Record, 39, 563–571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HIGGINS, S. T., MORRIS, E. K., & JOHNSON, L. M. (1989). Social transmission of superstitious behavior in preschool children. The Psychological Record, 39, 307–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • JUSTICE, T. C., & LOONEY, T. A. (1990). Another look at “superstitions” in pigeons. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 28, 64–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LATTAL, K. A. (1974). Combinations of response-reinforcer dependence and independence. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 22, 357–362.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • LEE, V. L. (1994). Organisms, things done, and the fragmentation of psychology. Behavior & Philosophy, 22, 7–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • LEE, V. L. (1995). What is a psychological unit? Behaviour Change. 12, 98–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MORGAN, D. L., MORGAN, R. K., & TOTH, J. M. (1992). Variation and selection: The evolutionary analogy and the convergence of cognitive and behavioral psychology. The Behavior Analyst, 15, 129–138.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • NEURINGER, A. J. (1970). Superstitious key pecking after three peck-produced reinforcements. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 13, 127–134.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • NOTTERMAN, J. M. (1959). Force emission during bar pressing. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 341–347.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ONO, K. (1987). Superstitious behavior in humans. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 47, 261–271.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • PAGE, S., & NEURINGER, A. (1985). Variability is an operant. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 11, 429–452.

    Google Scholar 

  • RILLING, M., KRAMER, T. J., & ASKEW, H. R. (1970). A preliminary analysis of the dynamics of the pecking response in pigeons. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 13, 267–278.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • SCHOENFELD, W. N., HARRIS, A. H., & FARMER, J. (1966). Conditioning response variability. Psychological Reports 9, 551–557.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SCHWARTZ, B. (1982). Reinforcement-induced behavioral stereotypy: How not to teach people to discover rules. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 111, 23–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SKINNER, B. F (1948). “Superstition” in the pigeon. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38, 168–172.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • SKINNER, B. F. (1978). Reflections on behaviorism and society. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • SKINNER, B. F. (1981). Selection by consequences. Science, 213, 501–504.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • STADDON, J. E. R. (1975). Learning as adaptation. In W. K. Estes (Ed.), Handbook of learning and cognitive processes. Vol. 2. Conditioning and behavior theory. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • STADDON, J. E. R., & SIMMELHAG, V. L. (1971). The “superstition” experiment: A reexamination of its implications for the principles of adaptive behavior. Psychological Review, 78, 3–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • TIMBERLAKE, W., & LUCAS, G. A. (1985). The basis of superstitious behavior: Chance contingency, stimulus substitution, or appetitive behavior? Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 44, 279–288.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • VOGEL, R., & ANNAU, Z. (1973). An operant discrimination task allowing variability of reinforced response patterning. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 20, 1–6.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • WAGNER, G. A., & MORRIS, E. K. (1987). “Superstitious” behavior in children. The Psychological Record, 37, 471–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WEISBERG, P., & KENNEDY, D. B. (1969). Maintenance of children’s behavior by accidental schedules of reinforcement. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 8, 222–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ZEILER, M. D. (1972). Superstitious behavior in children: An experimental analysis. In W. K. Reese (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior (pp. 12–29). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Graduate Studies, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, 3168, Australia

    Vicki L. Lee

Authors
  1. Vicki L. Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Preparation of this article was supported by Australian Research Council Grant Number A79331585 for the project entitled “Act-based Reformulation of Behavior Change Research.”

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lee, V.L. Superstitious Location Changes By Human Beings. Psychol Rec 46, 71–86 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395164

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395164

Search

Navigation