superstitious belief
Unfounded magical thinking
A superstitious belief is a conviction that certain actions, objects, or circumstances can influence outcomes through magical or supernatural means rather than any logical or causal connection.
Breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck; a rabbit's foot brings good fortune; walking under a ladder invites misfortune.
Such beliefs persist across cultures despite lacking empirical support, often passed down through generations or arising from coincidental associations between events.
- talismanMagical protective charm
- charmAttractive personal quality
- omenProphetic indicator
- wishboneForked poultry bone
- confirmation biasPreferring belief-supporting information
salt · magical thinking · beginner's luck · ghosts · folklore · placebo effect · horseshoe · knocking on wood · clover · astrology · ladder · bad luck · touch wood · divination · numerology · amulet · portent · sign
superstitious beliefevidence-based reasoning
Logic anchored to facts
rational belief · scientific knowledge · logical reasoning · critical thinking · scientific method
superstitious beliefnaturalism
Worldview excluding the supernatural
materialism · empiricism · physicalism · natural explanation
superstitious beliefskepticism
Disposition toward doubt
rationality · critical inquiry · scientific skepticism · freethinking · intellectual rigor
superstition, superstitious, superstitiously, belief, believe, believes, believed, believing, believer