Abstract des Autors

A laboratory investigation was conducted to examine the development of superstitions in sport. We explored the hypothesis that superstitions are most likely to develop among people who believe that they can, via their own actions, exert some control over chance outcomes. Thirty-seven subjects completed the Levenson chance orientation scale, a measure of belief in control over chance events, and then participated in a golf putting task. Subjects attempted 50 putts on an artificial turf putting green. For each putt, subjects selected the golf ball of their choice from a dish containing four colored balls. Superstitious behavior was defined as the selection of the same color ball after having made a putt with that ball. Results supporting the hypothesis indicated a significant negative correlation (r=-.30, p=.035) between superstitious behavior and Levenson scale scores. That is, subjects who indicated that they believed that their actions could control chance events were more likely to use a "lucky ball" following a successful putt. Verf.-Referat