Episode 36: Beyond Logic: Magical Thinking and How It Affects Us

In this episode, April reveals that her husband is a rain god. Well, he's not, but he thinks he is. She discusses this uniquely human thing we do called magical thinking.
Episode 36 Show Notes (oooh, so many sources!)

Good basic explanation of magical thinking:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/magical-thinking
Wait, here's another one:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/magical-thinking
How is magical thinking a cognitive distortion?
https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/mental-health/magical-thinking-effects-cognitive-distortion
Amanda Montell's awesome book:
https://www.amazon.com/Age-Magical-Overthinking-Modern-Irrationality/dp/1668007975
Scientific American articles on the topic:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-come-some-people-believe-in-the-paranormal/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-you-fight-conspiracy-theories/
Do dead people pinch us while we sleep? Probably not:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theory-and-praxis/202310/the-benefits-and-consequences-of-magical-thinking
Healthline's article:
https://www.healthline.com/health/magical-thinking#:~:text=Magical%20thinking%20involves%20the%20belief%20that%20you%20can,something%20that%20has%20no%20bearing%20on%20the%20circumstances.
Matthew Hutson and the positive side of magical thinking:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12933497-the-7-laws-of-magical-thinking
How magical thinking and OCD are connected:
https://www.verywellhealth.com/magical-thinking-ocd-5220558
Salon.com articles on the topic:
https://www.salon.com/2018/09/10/a-neuroscientist-explains-how-religious-fundamentalism-hijacks-the-brain_partner/
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/09/from-conspiracy-theories-to-manifesting-how-to-navigate-the-age-of-magical-overthinking/
How to Talk to Conspiracy Theorists:
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-pseudoscience/zen-and-art-talking-conspiracy-theorists
Interview with Eric Oliver:
https://news.uchicago.edu/podcasts/big-brains/science-conspiracy-theories-and-political-polarization-eric-oliver
Mick West is awesome. Links for his book and his webpage, Metabunk:

Transcript

Episode 36—Beyond Logic: Magical Thinking and How It Affects Us

Hello and welcome to Episode 36 of Think It Through.

My husband believes he can control the weather. Don’t worry, he’s not delusional (although he is a bit eccentric); however, he swears that every time he washes our cars, it rains shortly thereafter, sometimes later that same day; and he thinks of himself as a bit of a rain god. My response to that is always, “wow, it must be nice to be so powerful,” and we laugh and move on with our day. You might think that’s kind of silly, and it is, but you probably have had similar thoughts throughout your life—maybe you have a special shirt you wear when your favorite team is playing because they seem to be more likely to win whenever you wear it, or maybe you make a wish before you blow out the candles on your birthday cake because hey, it just might come true and what’s it gonna hurt?  These are all examples of magical thinking, which happens to be the topic for this episode. It’s something that we all do, and as in the examples I just mentioned, it can be harmless and may even have some benefits. But it can be taken too far, might be indicative of mental health issues, and can lead to things like obsessive behavior and conspiratorial thinking that interferes with our daily lives and our ability to relate to the people around us. So, let’s take a look at this very human thought process to see what it is, when it’s beneficial, when we can take it too far, and what to do when that happens to us or someone we care about. Here we go!

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According to Psychology Today, magical thinking is humanity’s need to believe that our hopes and desires can have an effect on how the world turns. An article on the website Medical News Today says that magical thinking occurs when a person believes that their use of specific words, thoughts, emotions or rituals actually have an influence on the external world. Of course, our words and actions often DO make a difference in the world, but what I’m talking about here is when there is no literal cause-and-effect connection between the things we think and do and something happening in the world. An article by licensed clinical social worker Jennie Bedsworth on the website GoodRXHealth defines magical thinking as a “cognitive distortion,” which is a pattern of thinking that is not based in fact or logic. Amanda Montell, author of “Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality,” gives examples like the conviction that we can “manifest our way out of poverty, or cure cancer with positive vibes, or even thwart the apocalypse by learning how to can our own peaches.” You probably know a few people who really believe those things.

Early childhood development pioneer Jean Piaget determined that magical thinking begins between the ages of 2 and 7. This stage of life is when children develop language and abstract thought, when imagination and curiosity about the world leads them to experiment to see if and how things are connected. Parents tend to reinforce magical thinking during this stage with characters like Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, and the tooth fairy. But somewhere around the age of 10, children start to have questions about how feasible these kinds of beliefs are.

Before that age, though, because they are still learning how the world works, they may believe that certain things are more closely connected than they truly are. The Medical News Today article gives an example of a child having feelings of anger towards a family member, then that family member has a very bad accident, and the child ends up feeling responsible for what happened, even though there was no connection between the child’s feelings and the accident—and experiences like that can spill over into adulthood and make someone think that their private thoughts and emotions have real world consequences for other people. Even though we outgrow our belief in Santa Claus, we still may harbor some unrealistic beliefs between the things we do and think and how that affects other people and the world at large. Magical thinking is fairly common among adults—a Scientific American article titled “How Come Some People Believe in the Paranormal?” said that a recent national poll found that about 70% of people believe in miracles, 42% of Americans believe that ghosts exist, and 29% believe in astrology—none of those things have any basis in fact. Like the example I mentioned of wearing your lucky shirt when your team is playing--there is no discernible connection between your shirt and how your team plays, they are completely unrelated, but it doesn’t matter; wearing that shirt fills some kind of need for you. Same thing with wearing an amulet, like a cross, or throwing salt over your shoulder when you accidentally spill some. Religious rituals also qualify as magical thinking, although the majority of them, like baptism, prayer, or sacramental rituals, are widely accepted as part of different belief systems and are not generally considered harmful. There are some atypical or extreme religious beliefs that could be harmful to people, but psychologists don’t consider basic religious practices to be negative and are some of the things that may have benefits, which I’ll talk about in a moment. Now, some kinds of mental conditions, like psychosis or schizophrenia, may lead to a person having delusions, such as believing they have godlike powers or the ability to control others with their thoughts. That kind of magical thinking does need to be addressed, but that’s outside the scope of what I’m talking about today.

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Whether magical thinking is positive or negative depends on the types of thoughts you have and the emotions or behaviors that come with them. As I said, there are some positive aspects to magical thinking. One of the potential positives is related to our need for some kind of control over our lives. There are plenty of times when we don’t feel in control in a situation, and often some kind of ritualistic behavior can make us feel as if we are doing something that could impact the outcome. For instance, if you are stressed while awaiting the results of a medical test you’ve taken, you might pray for patience or strength, or recite a mantra of some kind, and that could give you the feeling that you have at least some control over the situation. According to the Psychology Today article, “The Benefits and Consequences of Magical Thinking,” we may be uncertain about how something important will play out (like a job interview or maybe we’re in a theater play or participating in a sports event), and even if we know we’ve physically done everything we possibly can to ensure a positive outcome, we might also do something “inexplicable” to increase our odds of success. During my acting days, we would always say “break a leg” to each other before the play began. Why did we wish each other bodily harm? Because of the superstition that saying “good luck” in a theater will actually bring bad luck. Some other examples of inexplicable actions could include wearing a lucky piece of jewelry, or carrying something like a four leaf clover or a rabbit’s foot. There really isn’t any harm in this (well, except to the rabbit); but using these kinds of symbols have somewhat of a placebo effect and can reduce our anxiety about the situation. Many athletes perform some kind of ritualistic action before undertaking an important game, race, or match; for instance, Serena Williams was known for her ritual of bouncing the tennis ball exactly five times before her first serve of a match, and here’s a quote from Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps about what he did before every big race: “After we walked out to behind the blocks, I did what I always do there. I stretched my legs on the blocks, two different stretches, one a straight-leg stretch, the other with a bent knee, left leg first. I took the right headphone out. Once they called my name, I took the left headphone out, the parka off. It’s my routine to stand on the left side of the block and get onto it from that side.” That’s a very specific set of movements, and he did them in that order every time. Now, Serena Williams and Michael Phelps are world-class athletes, so maybe there is something to their rituals? Many sports teams also have their own sets of rituals they perform as a group; like doing a warm-up routine together, listening to a pep talk from their coach, giving each other high fives or handshakes before the game. These rituals certainly don’t hurt, and the sense of control, confidence, and team bonding they provide probably help athletes to do their best. 

Even a concept like “the power of positive thinking” might be considered a form of magical thinking. There isn’t any evidence for the idea that thinking positive thoughts can cure your cancer or get you that job interview. However, according to the article “Ta Da! Magical Thinking explained,” evidence does exist that thinking positively can help you manage stress and depression, and being more optimistic helps you notice and focus on the good things around you. In Episode 17 I talked about how optimism causes us to see negative events as temporary rather than permanent, which can help you feel more hopeful and less stressed. So, while there’s not a direct connection between thinking positively and having great things happen to you, there is evidence that a more positive frame of mind helps you make the best of the situation you are currently in, which in the long run can make your life much better.

Science journalist Matthew Hutson wrote a book titled “The Seven Laws of Magical Thinking: How Irrational Beliefs Keep us Happy, Healthy, and Sane.” In it he explains how our brains are hard-wired to rely on magical thinking, and that it can play a very positive role in our lives if we understand how it works. It helps us to believe we have free will and some level of control over our environment; and it also allows us to believe that we have purpose and protects us from the paralyzing thoughts that can occur when we think about our own mortality (for more explanation of this, go back and listen to Episode 34 where I talk about existential dread). That’s right, apparently a little magical thinking can keep us from laying awake in bed at night ruminating about our upcoming, inevitable demise, and hey, in that case, I’m all for a little magical thinking!

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As we’ve seen, there are certainly some benefits to this kind of thinking, even though it isn’t rational. But if that irrationality begins to interfere with our ability to live our lives effectively, it can cause problems. For instance, what if you believe that bad things happen on Friday the 13th, so you call out sick that day and miss an important work deadline? Or miss your child’s music recital, all due to an irrational fear that if you leave your house that day something awful will happen? People can over-rely on magical thinking; for instance, it's one thing to rely on prayer to help you cope with a health problem (that can certainly be a positive thing), but relying solely on prayer to cure a serious medical condition instead of going to the doctor can be dangerous and even deadly. And lest you think I am picking on religion here, many alternative medical treatments also fall into the category of magical thinking, because they lack plausibility, testability, and repeatability and are based instead on anecdotal or testimonial evidence that focuses on the belief that it will be effective. I had a friend who bounced back and forth between traditional and alternative treatments for his colon cancer, but he was more trusting of his alternative “healer,” and that ended up playing a part in his eventual death. This is a sad example of the kind of overreliance on magical thinking that can lead us to ignore or turn away from rational, well-proven treatments, and towards some unrealistic ideas that may lead to an unfortunate outcome. 

Magical thinking can also be a part of some mental health conditions, and in these cases the outcome is likely to be far more disruptive than in someone without these conditions. As I said earlier, I’m not talking about conditions involving delusions or hallucinations, but I will mention OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. This is a condition that involves recurring intrusive thoughts and repetitive actions; magical thinking is one of the ways in which the condition can manifest. A person with OCD might be continually obsessed with the idea that NOT doing specific actions could cause something horrible to happen. From the article “Magical Thinking OCD and how it’s treated,” examples of this might be someone believing that if they don’t complete their morning tasks in a specific order, they will crash their car, or if they don’t open and close their textbook 10 times, they’ll fail the test. Compulsive actions could include doing one thing repeatedly, like turning on and off a light switch until it feels “right.” Or using repetitive hand movements or touching items a certain number of times in a specific way. And people with OCD experience high levels of anxiety if they DON’T do those actions; so you can see how disruptive this condition can be for people who suffer from it. 

There is also a connection between religious fundamentalism and magical thinking. The Salon.com article titled “how religious fundamentalism attacks the brain, as explained by a neuroscientist,” states that because fundamentalism insists on the absolute authority of its leaders and religious texts, and discourages any logic, reasoning or scientific evidence that challenges its tenets, it is “inherently maladaptive.” To quote the article—"…in the United States, Christian fundamentalism is linked to science denial. Since science is nothing more than a method of determining truth using empirical measurement and hypothesis testing, denial of science equates to the denial of objective truth and tangible evidence. In other words, the denial of reality.”  Fundamentalism promotes magical thinking AND at the same time, discourages followers from exposing themselves to any different ideas. 

There’s also a strong link between magical thinking and conspiracy theories. In the article “Zen and the Art of talking to Conspiracy Theorists,” author Jonathan Jarry describes these theories as  “the claim that there exists a secret plot between a large number of powerful people or organizations, usually an entire industry or many large governments, to consistently deceive us in order to reach an often evil goal.” In the May 29, 2019 episode of the podcast Big Brains, University of Chicago political science professor Eric Oliver discussed his research on this topic. He suggests that what correlates most strongly with conspiracy theories is believing in the supernatural or paranormal phenomena, which as I said earlier is a form of magical thinking. He says that this kind of thinking is, and I quote “when we basically make attributions to unobservable forces to try to explain some event. What's important about magical thinking is not simply that we just invoke the unobservable force, but that we also reject an alternative explanation that is based on something that's observable. What we came to realize, looking at the research in anthropology and psychology on magical thinking… was that this was a form of intuitive thinking.” So people who believe conspiracy theories reject obvious, observable, rational explanations for events in favor of their own intuition that the causes behind these events are mysterious and hidden from us for “reasons.” Oliver thinks that while all of us use both rational and intuitive thinking, many of us tend to fall more on one side of that spectrum than the other, that we either identify more as an intuitionist or a rationalist. And it is the intuitionists who are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. How do you know which one you are? Here’s one way to tell—if you had to choose, would you rather wear a clean, laundered sweater that had previously belonged to someone who had murdered their entire family, or pick up a grime-encrusted nickel off the sidewalk and stick it in your mouth? If you answer that you prefer wearing the sweater, you’re probably a rationalist; if you say you’d rather take your chances with a dirty, germy nickel, you’re likely to be an intuitionist. Why? Because to a rationalist, the sweater is literally just a sweater, and it’s been laundered, so there’s no connection between the sweater and its former owner. To the intuitionist, however, it wouldn’t matter how many times the sweater was washed, it still carries the essence of evil on it, and if the intuitionist wore it, they would feel contaminated with that evil, which is totally magical thinking. As for me, I’d rather wear that sweater (because it’s physically clean, and the nickel is definitely physically dirty); but I already knew I was a rationalist anyway. Intuitionists are more based on emotions and feelings than logic, so even though it’s not logical to prefer sticking a dirty nickel in your mouth, contamination with actual germs feels like a better choice than contamination with the essence of a murderer. Ok, let’s apply that to why an intuitionist would be more likely to believe in conspiracy theories—Because they are more feelings-based, they seek to find answers that they “feel” are correct intuitively, whether those explanations make rational sense or not. Author and professional debunker Mick West gives an example of this in his book, “Escaping the Rabbit Hole.” A woman who believed in the chemtrails conspiracy theory, which posits that airplane contrails are not created by water vapor at all, but instead are spraying toxic chemicals into the air for some nefarious purpose, was shown very compelling evidence proving that this conspiracy had no basis in fact. When asked if that had changed her mind, she admitted that the evidence made sense, but she just “felt in her heart and her gut” that the chemtrail theory was true. Once someone has made a connection like that, it’s very difficult for them to recognize their belief as irrational. Just like other kinds of magical thinking, belief in conspiracy theories meets a very real need for many people, and until and unless they come to the realization that these beliefs are NOT grounded in reality, they will continue to cling to them.

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Since some magical thinking is positive, or at least not harmful, there’s a lot of it that you don’t need to worry about. But if it is somehow interfering with your ability to live happily and effectively, then what can you do to alleviate it? The article in Medical News Today lists a few things that you might do when you feel like magical thinking is affecting you:

o   You could try delaying your reponse: When you notice that you are having these kinds of thoughts, just don’t act on them immediately, wait a while. You don’t necessarily need to stop thinking about it, just wait and maybe do something else instead of acting on the thought; you may find that the thought and the anxiety associated with it just goes away. 

o   You also might want to try and notice what happens when you don’t engage with the thought or act on it. Does anything bad actually happen because you don’t act on it? Does your team lose the game every time you don’t wear the lucky shirt, and win every time you do wear it?

According to Healthline, it’s probably a good idea to talk to a therapist about magical thinking when it causes distress to the point that it affects your daily life, if those thoughts seem unusual, persistent, or uncontrollable, or if they trigger you to want to harm yourself or others. While any good mental health therapist can help, you might want to find a therapist skilled in cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, which is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on changing negative thoughts and belief patterns. These therapists often work with patients experiencing cognitive distortions like magical thinking. Therapy is especially important for those suffering from OCD; these patients may also be prescribed antidepressant medication in conjunction with therapy to reduce the anxiety that comes with intrusive negative thoughts and compulsions.

I have to think that if you’re listening to this podcast, the chance that you believe in things like homeopathy or other alternative medical treatments, or that you think that lizard people run the world or that chemtrails are poisoning our atmosphere, is rather unlikely. It’s not zero, though; you might be mostly a rationalist but still hang on to some of these potentially problematic beliefs, because you’re human. What is more likely is that you know people, some of whom may be quite dear to you, who engage in this kind of magical thinking to the point that they act in harmful ways, like refusing traditional medical treatment in favor of something like homeopathy or energy field therapy. What to do with them? Well, arguing with them about the irrationality of their beliefs, while it may seem like a good idea in the heat of the moment, generally doesn’t fix anything; in fact, that can entrench them more solidly in those beliefs. Science journalist Stephanie Pappas, author of “Conspiracy Theories can be Undermined with these Strategies,” from Scientific American, says that neither appealing to their emotions nor trying to have a fact-based argument generally works. It’s especially important not to mock or patronize their beliefs either. Research shows that prevention is the best way to keep people from over-relying on magical thinking; teach them how to evaluate sources and arguments. Pappas says, “Putting people into an analytic mindset and explicitly teaching them how to evaluate information appears most protective against conspiracy rabbit holes.” Unfortunately, depending on the situation, it might be too late for preventative techniques. Some of the best advice about dealing with people consumed with magical thinking and conspiracy theories comes from “Escaping the Rabbit Hole” author Mick West and Steven Hassan, author of “Freedom of Mind.”  I’ll post some links to their websites, along with books and articles by and about them, so you can check them out for yourself. It’s a complicated challenge to undertake, but here’s some good advice: Be patient, both with yourself and with the person who is engrossed in magical thinking. Try to understand what their thinking is, so ask questions that help the person to reflect on their own beliefs. Avoid making judgments, even if their ideas sound odd. Understand where your own beliefs come from. Take your own ego out of the situation, but also recognize that often, a large part of conspiracy theory behavior involves that person trying to influence you to believe the same things they do. So, be aware of that; having compassion and understanding for someone doesn’t mean you have to buy into everything they say. You may need to step back and give yourself some breathing room, but don’t cut someone off just because their ideas are irrational.

Amanda Montell, the “Magical Overthinking” author, says that “changing other people’s minds is practically impossible, but generating awareness of how your own mind works…is a really important challenge to take on.” I mean, it’s true, and that’s probably why you’re listening to this podcast right now, to understand yourself and your own mind. Once we recognize how easily we can fall into magical thinking, we have more of a sense of how and why others do it, and that can help us to have more compassion. She also believes that this age of “information overload” makes it easier for us to fall victim to magical and conspiratorial thinking, and that one of the best things we can do is spend time away from our tech and connect more with the physical world—take a walk, go for a swim, have a picnic, just sit in your yard and watch the birds. That’s what I do!

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So, what have we learned about this fascinating topic? All of us use magical thinking at least occasionally, and for the most part it’s pretty harmless and might even have some positive effects. But, depending on the types and amount of magical thinking we do, we can rely on it far too much and that can lead to things like depression or other mental health issues, or we may end up trusting in things like alternative medicine that really don’t help us, or even falling victim to conspiracy theories. We can avoid those potential pitfalls by recognizing magical thinking for what it is—a coping mechanism that gives us some semblance of control over ourselves and our environment. If we take it too far, it can affect us and those around us negatively, in which case it might be a good idea to seek out a therapist. When we recognize it at a severe level in other people, having patience, compassion, and understanding, as well as helping them evaluate information and sources, is the best way to help them come to their own understanding that their beliefs may not be grounded in reality. Don’t forget to check out the show notes, there are a lot of great, accessible sources about this topic that go into far more detail than I ever could here. Oh, and my husband washed the car again a few days ago, and the next morning he gleefully told me, “Guess what? It rained last night!” Hmm, maybe he is a rain god after all…..and that’s it for now. I hope you use the information in this episode to help you think it through.