We explore superstitious beliefs as a basis of product performance expectations and their impact on initial purchase likelihood and subsequent satisfaction. In doing so, we demonstrate instances when superstitiondriven expectations cause consumers to make purchase decisions that run counter to economic rationality. In the first set of studies we find that Taiwanese consumers are relatively more...

It has been speculated that superstitiousness and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) exist along a continuum. The distinction between superstitious behavior and superstitious belief, however, is crucial for any theoretical account of claimed associations between superstitiousness and OCD. By demonstrating that there is a dichotomy between behavior and belief, which is experimentally testable, ...

INTRODUCTION Singaporeans are superstitious, and medical staff are no exception to the rule. We conducted a survey to determine the prevalence of superstitious beliefs and practices amongst doctors, nurses and medical students in Singapore. METHODS Internet and face-to-face surveys of 68 respondents, all of whom completed the survey after being threatened with curses and hexes. RESULTS Sixt...

We investigate whether superstitious beliefs held directly by only a fraction of the population affect market equilibrium. Using data from multiracial Singapore, we find that apartments whose unit numbers end with 8, an auspicious number for Chinese, are sold at 0.9% premium, whereas those that end with 4, an inauspicious number for Chinese, are sold at 1.5% discount. The discount for inauspici...

In this paper, we study some of the conditions under which " superstitious learning " phenomena (Levitt and March, 1988) become problematic in organizations, and we identify a set of boundary conditions for these effects. In particular, we argue that the tacit accumulation of experience might exacerbate the problem, but that the heterogeneity in the stock of prior experience, as well as more de...

Superstitions can be understood as a way of fixing beliefs – in the face of an ongoing lack of control – by involving effectively untestable explanations. The explanations are untestable only in part due to their content: related social attitudes and available empirical capabilities also play a vital role. Importantly, untestability does not entail the lack of meaning but, rather, frees the mea...