Beyond the Tricks: The Science and Comparative Cognition of Magic.

Magic is an art form that has fascinated humans for centuries. Recently, the techniques used by magicians to make their audience experience the impossible have attracted the attention of psychologists, who, in just a couple of decades, have produced a large amount of research regarding how these effects operate, focusing on the blind spots in perception and roadblocks in cognition that magic techniques exploit. Most recently, this investigation has given a pathway to a new line of research that uses magic effects to explore the cognitive abilities of nonhuman animals. This new branch of the scientific study of magic has already yielded new evidence illustrating the power of magic effects as a psychological tool for nonhuman animals. This review aims to give a thorough overview of the research on both the human and nonhuman perception of magic effects by critically illustrating the most prominent works of both fields of inquiry.

Magical thinking: Its effect on emergency medical care.

Magical thinking is a cognitive process characterized by beliefs in supernatural causality and the power of rituals. Grounded in personal convictions rather than objective reality, it involves subjective beliefs rather than magic tricks. Magical thinking's effects range from potentially positive, such as bringing hope and comfort, to negative consequences, including delays in seeking appropriate medical care and refusing evidence-based treatments. This article provides an overview of magical thinking, including its prevalence, diverse forms, and influence on patients, families, and emergency physicians (EPs). This article offers guidelines for recognizing signs of magical thinking and emphasizes the importance of respectful and empathetic interactions with patients and their families. Highlighting both the benefits and detriments of magical thinking in Emergency Medical (EM) care, the article discusses the knowledge and tools needed to optimize patient outcomes. It acknowledges the varying belief systems and cultural practices that contribute to the prevalence of magical thinking. For physicians and other EM professionals, addressing magical thinking requires cultural competence and empathetic engagement. Active listening and shared decision-making are essential to promote positive patient outcomes. By recognizing and understanding magical thinking and fostering effective communication, EPs can navigate the delicate balance of addressing patients' beliefs while delivering evidence-based care.

Anxiety, Cognitive Availability, and the Talisman Effect of Insurance.

Across four experiments (N = 1,923), this research provides converging evidence of a talisman effect of insurance-consumers who have an insurance policy feel that the covered mishap is less likely to occur. Although such an effect has previously been proposed, empirical evidence for it is limited, in part because the talisman effect has often been conflated with a related but distinct magical-thinking phenomenon, the tempting-fate effect. By disentangling these two effects, we are better able to isolate the talisman effect and show that it is a robust phenomenon in its own right. We also provide support for a mechanism underlying the talisman effect: Insurance reduces anxiety and repetitious thoughts related to the mishap; with fewer thoughts about the mishap, its cognitive availability is lower and so it seems less likely to occur.

O cuidado em saúde promovido pelas religiões afro-brasileiras / Health care promoted by afro-brazilian religions / El cuidado en salud promovido por las religiones afrobrasileñas

No decorrer da história, sempre foram infindáveis os casos em que os sujeitos recorriam a centros espíritas ou terreiros de religiões de matrizes africanas em decorrência de problemas como doenças, desempregos ou amores mal resolvidos, com o objetivo de saná-los. Por conta disso, este artigo visa apresentar os resultados da pesquisa relacionados ao objetivo de mapear os processos de cuidado em saúde ofertados em três terreiros de umbanda de uma cidade do litoral piauiense. Para isso, utilizamos o referencial da Análise Institucional "no papel". Os participantes foram três líderes de terreiros e os respectivos praticantes/consulentes dos seus estabelecimentos religiosos. Identificamos perspectivas de cuidado que se contrapunham às racionalidades biomédicas, positivistas e cartesianas, e faziam referência ao uso de plantas medicinais, ao recebimento de rezas e passes e à consulta oracular. A partir desses resultados, podemos perceber ser cada vez mais necessário, portanto, que os povos de terreiros protagonizem a construção, implementação e avaliação das políticas públicas que lhe sejam específicas.(AU)

In history, there have always been endless cases of people turning to spiritual centers or terreiros of religions of African matrices due to problems such as illnesses, unemployment, or unresolved love affairs. Therefore, this article aims to present the research results related to the objective of mapping the health care processes offered in three Umbanda terreiros of a city on the Piauí Coast. For this, we use the Institutional Analysis reference "on Paper." The participants were three leaders of terreiros and the respective practitioners/consultants of their religious establishments. We identified perspectives of care that contrasted with biomedical, positivist, and Cartesian rationalities and referred to the use of medicinal plants, the prescript of prayers and passes, and oracular consultation. From these results, we can see that it is increasingly necessary, therefore, that the peoples of the terreiros lead the construction, implementation, and evaluation of public policies that are specific to them.(AU)

A lo largo de la historia, siempre hubo casos en los cuales las personas buscan en los centros espíritas o terreros de religiones africanas la cura para sus problemas, como enfermedades, desempleo o amoríos mal resueltos. Por este motivo, este artículo pretende presentar los resultados de la investigación con el objetivo de mapear los procesos de cuidado en salud ofrecidos en tres terreros de umbanda de una ciudad del litoral de Piauí (Brasil). Para ello, se utiliza el referencial del Análisis Institucional "en el Papel". Los participantes fueron tres líderes de terreros y los respectivos practicantes / consultivos de los establecimientos religiosos que los mismos conducían. Se identificaron perspectivas de cuidado que se contraponían a las racionalidades biomédicas, positivistas y cartesianas, y hacían referencia al uso de plantas medicinales, al recibimiento de rezos y pases y a la consulta oracular. Los resultados permiten concluir que es cada vez más necesario que los pueblos de terreros sean agentes protagónicos de la construcción, implementación y evaluación de las políticas públicas destinadas específicamente para ellos.(AU)

The ritual stance does not apply to magic in general.

Contrary to the author's proposed classification scheme, I argue that most magical practices are better viewed as "instrumental" rather than "ritualistic." Much ethnographic and historical evidence shows that magicians and ritual experts often have elaborate causal theories regarding how magic actions lead to the putative outcome, and the "physical/mechanical" versus "supernatural" distinction in causal mechanisms needs serious reconsideration.

Too perfect to be good? An investigation of magicians' Too Perfect Theory.

The "Too Perfect Theory" states that if a trick is too perfect, it might paradoxically become less impressive, or give away its secret method. This theory suggests that an increased impossibility results in a less magical effect. The Too Perfect Theory is often applied to magic effects, but it conflicts with recent scientific investigations showing that participants' level of enjoyment of a magic performance is positively related to their perceived impossibility of the trick. The current article investigated whether an imperfect magic performance is more impressive than a perfect one. Across two experiments, we studied whether participants enjoy a performance more if the effect is not perfect. We also examined the different types of explanations people give to these two types of performances. The results showed that participants enjoyed a perfect performance more than an imperfect one. However, consistently with the Too Perfect Theory, participants watching the perfect performance also discovered the correct method behind the magic trick more frequently and believed the performance was staged more often. Moreover, participants' method explanation significantly impacted their reports about the performance.

Investigating expert performance when observing magic effects.

The use of magic effects to investigate the blind spots in attention and perception and roadblocks in the cognition of the spectator has yielded thought-provoking results elucidating how these techniques operate. However, little is known about the interplay between experience practising magic and being deceived by magic effects. In this study, we performed two common sleight of hand effects and their real transfer counterparts to non-magicians, and to magicians with a diverse range of experience practising magic. Although, as a group, magicians identified the sleights of hand as deceptive actions significantly more than non-magicians; this ability was only evidenced in magicians with more than 5 years in the craft. However, unlike the rest of the participants, experienced magicians had difficulty correctly pinpointing the location of the coin in one of the real transfers presented. We hypothesise that this might be due to the inherent ambiguity of this transfer, in which, contrary to the other real transfer performed, no clear perceptive clue is given about the location of the coin. We suggest that extensive time practising magic might have primed experienced magicians to anticipate foul play when observing ambiguous movements, even when the actions observed are genuine.

Uma diversão entre a ciência e o ocultismo: os espetáculos de mágica no Rio de Janeiro do século XIX (décadas de 1840- 1880) / An entertainment between the science and the occultism: the magic shows in the 19th century Rio de Janeiro (1840S1880S)

Este estudo objetiva lançar um olhar sobre os espetáculos de artes mágicas promovidos no Rio de Janeiro do século XIX, sugerindo que, por suas características, podem nos permitir perceber algumas peculiaridades nacionais do processo de adesão ao ideário e imaginário da modernidade. Como fontes, foram utilizados revistas e jornais publicados na cidade entre as décadas de 1840 e 1880, período em que mágicos mais amiúde ocuparam os palcos de teatros fluminenses, observando-se um auge e regressão da popularidade desse tipo de divertimento. Na análise/interpretação, consideramos as três dimensões que marcaram, no Brasil e no mundo, os discursos e dinâmicas dessas apresentações: a ciência, o ocultismo, a diversão.

This study aims to take a look at the magical arts spectacles promoted in the 19th century Rio de Janeiro, suggesting that, due to their characteristics, they can allow us to perceive some national peculiarities of the adherence process to the ideals of modernity. As sources, they were used magazines and newspapers published in the city between the 1840s and 1880s, a period in which magicians more often occupied the stages of Rio de Janeiro theatres, with an upswing and regression of this type of entertainment in terms of popularity. For analysis/interpretation, we considered the three dimensions that marked, in Brazil and in the world, the discourses and dynamics of these exhibitions: science, occultism, entertainment.

The Role of Religiosity and Guilt in Symptomatology and Outcome of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Importance: Religiosity and guilt are commonly featured in obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). The role of religiosity and guilt in OCD has been frequently studied in the literature and suggested that greater religiosity/spirituality, paranormal beliefs, and magical ideation have often been associated with enhanced obsessive-compulsive behavior. India being a multi-religious country, it is particularly notable that a research was required to assess the role of religiosity and guilt in symptomatology and outcome in OCD, a condition in which religious themes are often present. It has also been documented that the fear of guilt for doing something irresponsibly may lead to OCD symptoms. Objective: The study aimed to seek the role of religiosity and guilt in symptomatology and outcome of OCD. This study also aimed to assess the pattern of symptomatology of patients with OCD and the relation between religiosity and guilt. Settings and Design: This was a single-centered, prospective study for one year with six months follow-up. Methods and Material: Fifty OCD subjects of either gender, aged between 18 years and 45 years were included in this study and were assessed using Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, Belief into Action Scale, and The Guilt Inventory instruments for the measurement of OCD severity, religiosity, and guilt, respectively. All the recorded data were analyzed using IBM® SPSS® version 20.1. Results: At baseline, OCD severity was positively correlated with religiosity and guilt, while after 6-month follow-up, OCD severity was negatively correlated with religiosity and positively correlated with guilt. Conclusion: Religiosity and guilt have significant effect on the symptomatology and outcome of OCD.

Exploring the perceptual inabilities of Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) using magic effects.

In recent years, scientists have begun to use magic effects to investigate the blind spots in our attention and perception [G. Kuhn, Experiencing the Impossible: The Science of Magic (2019); S. Macknik, S. Martinez-Conde, S. Blakeslee, Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions (2010)]. Recently, we suggested that similar techniques could be transferred to nonhuman animal observers and that such an endeavor would provide insight into the inherent commonalities and discrepancies in attention and perception in human and nonhuman animals [E. Garcia-Pelegrin, A. K. Schnell, C. Wilkins, N. S. Clayton, Science 369, 1424-1426 (2020)]. Here, we performed three different magic effects (palming, French drop, and fast pass) to a sample of six Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius). These magic effects were specifically chosen as they utilize different cues and expectations that mislead the spectator into thinking one object has or has not been transferred from one hand to the other. Results from palming and French drop experiments suggest that Eurasian jays have different expectations from humans when observing some of these effects. Specifically, Eurasian jays were not deceived by effects that required them to expect an object to move between hands when observing human hand manipulations. However, similar to humans, Eurasian jays were misled by magic effects that utilize fast movements as a deceptive action. This study investigates how another taxon perceives the magician's techniques of deception that commonly deceive humans.

Cognitive style predicts how people explain mental magic tricks.

Magic tricks are deceiving, yet we can readily generate an explanation for a trick that we do not fully understand. In three experiments, we show that the way people explain a mental magic trick depends on their individual cognitive style. Analytical thinkers tend to generate explanations that appeal to rationality, such as using physical props to accomplish an effect. In contrast, intuitive thinkers are more likely to generate irrational explanations that accord with the magician's provided backstory, such as using subliminal cues to guide a spectator's choices. We observe this effect when measuring a participant's cognitive style using the Cognitive Reflection Test, and also when manipulating a participant's cognitive style using a simple narrative prompt.

Intuitions about magic track the development of intuitive physics.

Many successful magic tricks violate our assumptions about how physical objects behave, but some magic tricks are better than others. We examined whether the interest adults express in a magic trick is predicted by the age at which infants first respond to violation of the corresponding physical principle. In Experiment 1, adults (N = 319) rated their interest in magic tricks mimicking stimuli from violation-of-expectation experiments with infants. We found a clear correlation between how interesting a trick is and the age at which infants demonstrate a sensitivity to its underlying principle. In a second experiment (N = 350), we replicated this finding and also used three additional tricks for which there is no established age of acquisition to predict the age at which those physical principles might be acquired. A third experiment (N = 368) replicated these findings measuring adults' surprise at physical violations rather than their interest in magic tricks. Our results suggest that adults' intuitions reflect the development of physical knowledge and show how magic can reveal our expectations about the physical world.

Mind Control Tricks: Magicians' Forcing and Free Will.

A new research program has recently emerged that investigates magicians' mind control tricks, also called forces. This research highlights the psychological processes that underpin decision-making, illustrates the ease by which our decisions can be covertly influenced, and helps answer questions about our sense of free will and agency over choices.

Illusionist techniques as a complement to psychological support for children with cancer.

Magic and illusionism may be a potentially valid resource for children with cancer, as a complement to more traditional psychological support approaches. This study considered the psychological interviews conducted with patients with cancer <10 years of age from January to December 2019. We classified the reasons why consultations were performed and the specific situations when psychologists adopted illusionist techniques. Overall, 96 children (age 4-10 years, median 7) received psychological interventions. Magic techniques were used in 30 patients: in 15 cases to support communication and relations, in 9 as a diversion, and in 2 each for physical therapy and rehabilitation, humour therapy, and psychotherapy. This preliminary descriptive experience suggests that the use of magic tricks might be helpful in providing support for communication and relations, as well for compliance and rehabilitation, for children with cancer. More analytical studies are needed to provide quantitative assessment of the efficacy of such an approach.