Does carrying a lucky charm make us perform better: a famous experiment and its failed replications
A 2010 study reported that lucky charms improved performance, but larger replications found no such effect. What does this say about the evidence?
Results for "belief"
No Scientific Basis Does Not Mean Worthless: Reading Folk Belief as Cultural Heritage Rather Than as a Truth Claim
Folk belief is not science, but that does not make it worthless. The right way to read it is as cultural heritage, a symbolic language of community.
Do spiritual believers 'see' more: the face-in-noise experiment and the lenient response threshold
Experiments show mystical believers report seeing faces in ambiguous images more often, yet their visual sensitivity is unchanged.
Do Highly Educated People Believe Less in Fortune Telling? Intuitive Thinking, Analytical Thinking, and Paranormal Belief
Higher education goes with lower belief in fortune telling, but the correlation is modest and mostly runs through thinking style rather than through degrees.
How early 20th century Vietnamese consulted fortune tellers, picked auspicious days, and practiced mediumship: rereading Phan Kế Bính, Diguet, and Nguyễn Văn Huyên
Three early 20th century recorders found fortune telling, day selection and mediumship widespread in northern Vietnam, each seeing them differently.
Does the 2026 Bính Ngọ Year Make People Avoid Having Children: Lessons from Japan in 1966
Japan's 1966 Bính Ngọ year saw births fall about 15% on a belief that girls born then harmed husbands. Vietnam's 2026 data gap remains.
How Psychologists Measure Spiritual Belief: The Paranormal Belief Scale and Surveys Since 1936
Psychologists use the Paranormal Belief Scale by Tobacyk and Milford, revised in 2004, with 26 items across seven subscales.
What Does Vietnamese Folk Belief Encompass?
Vietnamese folk belief includes ancestor worship, deity worship, Mother Goddess religion, agricultural beliefs, and rituals of many ethnic groups.
How Do Belief and Superstition Differ Under Vietnamese Law?
Vietnam's 2016 Law on Belief and Religion separates protected belief from banned superstition, with fines and criminal penalties.
Thủy Diệu Star in Nine Luminaries: Meaning in Folk Belief
Explore the meaning of Thủy Diệu star in Nine Luminaries: characteristics, fortune for men and women, ritual practices, and key notes in folk belief.
Mộc Đức Star in Nine Luminaries: Meaning in Folk Belief
Discover Mộc Đức star, one of the three lucky stars in Nine Luminaries: its influence, worship ritual, best time, and notes for men and women.
Thái Bạch Star in Cửu Diệu: Meaning in Folk Belief
Thái Bạch is the most inauspicious star in Cửu Diệu, tied to loss and betrayal. A monthly ritual on the 15th lunar day, facing West with 8 lamps, may help.
Is Mother Goddess Worship a Folk Belief or a Religion? The Debate Among Researchers and the Definition in Vietnam's 2016 Law on Belief and Religion
Vietnam's 2016 Law on Belief and Religion separates belief from religion, yet researchers still debate whether Mother Goddess Worship is a religion.
Kế Đô Star in the Nine Luminaries - meaning in folk belief
Learn about Kế Đô star, one of the three malefic stars in the Nine Luminaries, its influence, remedies and folk beliefs.
Cầu Ngư Festival: The Whale Worship Belief of Central Vietnam Fishermen
Cầu Ngư festival honors the Whale God in central Vietnam, with fishermen praying for safe seas and good catches through rituals that bind the community.
Face Mole Map in Vietnamese Folk Belief and Where Variants Disagree
A compilation of Vietnamese folk beliefs about facial moles in physiognomy, analyzing the meaning of each area and pointing out where folk variants disagree.
Sun Star (Thái Dương) in the Nine Luminaries: Folk Belief Significance
Explore the Sun Star (Thái Dương) in the Nine Luminaries: why it is considered auspicious, its impact on career and wealth, and the proper ritual to honor it.
The Cúng Mụ Rite and the Belief in the 12 Midwife Goddesses
Explore the origin and role of the 12 Bà Mụ in Vietnamese folk belief, female deities believed to shape a newborn's body and bestow blessings.
Left or Right Eye Twitching: What Does Folk Belief Say It Signals?
What folk belief says a twitching left or right eye signals: Phan Kế Bính's "máy mắt, có sự", and an old Chinese table of left and right by the hour.
The Meaning of the Tiger-Pig Six Harmonies in Eastern Folk Belief
The Tiger-Pig Six Harmonies pair in Eastern belief: its origins, yin-yang symbolism, and uses in marriage, business and feng shui for these two zodiac signs.
Meaning of the Six Harmony of Dragon and Rooster in Eastern Folk Belief
The Dragon-Rooster Six Harmony pairs authority with wisdom and refinement in Eastern belief, and its role in astrology, marriage and feng shui.
The Meaning of the Six Harmony of Horse - Goat in Eastern Folk Belief
The Horse and Goat Six Harmony pair in Eastern belief: Fire generating Earth, Yin-Yang balance, and harmony in marriage and business cooperation.
Vân Hớn Star in the Nine Luminaries: Meaning and Remedies in Folk Belief
Vân Hớn in the Nine Luminaries: traits, its inauspicious meaning for men and women, and the 29th day ritual facing East.
Meaning of the Four Clash Group Dragon - Dog - Ox - Goat in Eastern Folk Belief
The Four Clash group Dragon, Dog, Ox, Goat pairs two opposing branches. Eastern folk belief sees conflict in business and marriage, yet growth too.
Worship in Southern Vietnam: Forms of Belief, Origins, and Characteristics of a New Land
Southern Vietnam worship spans Thành hoàng, Bà Chúa Xứ, Mẫu, whale and ancestor veneration. Its origins, cultural fusion and modern shifts are examined.
The Meaning of the Rat-Ox Six Harmony (Luc Hop) in Eastern Folk Belief
The Rat-Ox Six Harmony pairs the Rat's flexible wisdom with the Ox's enduring strength, a yin-yang union that supports career and marriage.
Belief, Superstition, and Pseudoscience Are Three Different Things, but They Are Often Lumped Together
Folk belief, harmful superstition and pseudoscience differ in nature. Definitions and examples show how to tell cultural faith from fraud.
Nàng Hai Festival (Moon Mother) - Fertility Belief of the Tay People in Cao Bằng
The Nàng Hai Festival of the Tay people in Cao Bằng is a national intangible cultural heritage honoring the Moon Mother and her 12 fairy daughters.
When a tarot reading 'works': the cards or the sitter's belief? What the research says
Two small studies disagree on whether paranormal belief makes sitters rate a tarot reading as more accurate. The evidence stays thin and unreplicated.
Lantern Festival of the Chinese Community in Chợ Lớn and the Belief in Thiên Hậu
The Lantern Festival in Chợ Lớn, a national intangible cultural heritage, centers on the belief in Thiên Hậu Thánh Mẫu at ancient assembly halls.
The Meaning of the Four Clashing Signs: Tiger - Monkey - Snake - Pig in Eastern Folk Belief
The Four Clashing Signs in Eastern folk belief are the Tiger, Monkey, Snake and Pig, two opposing pairs that reflect yin-yang balance.
The Meaning of the Four Clashing Signs Ty - Ngo - Mao - Dau in Eastern Folk Belief
The Four Clashing Signs Ty, Ngo, Mao and Dau form two opposing pairs on the Earthly Branch cycle, shaped by the five elements and yin-yang rules.
Bà Chúa Xứ of Sam Mountain: From Southern Folk Belief to Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
The Vía Bà Chúa Xứ festival at Sam Mountain joined UNESCO's heritage list in 2024, blending Kinh, Cham, Khmer and Hoa beliefs.
The Meaning of the Six Harmony (Luc Hop) of Snake and Monkey in Eastern Folk Belief
The Snake-Monkey Six Harmony blends wisdom and agility in Eastern folk belief, with notes on Five Elements, Yin-Yang, love and career.
Practical Guide: How to Choose Auspicious Dates and Times for Weddings and Groundbreaking in Vietnamese Folk Belief
How to choose auspicious dates and times for weddings and groundbreaking in Vietnamese folk belief, with lunar calendar tips and simple rituals.
How Much Is a Pretty License Plate Worth: Plate Auctions and the Value of Belief in Numbers
Hồng Kông license plate auction data shows number 8 sells higher and number 4 lower. That price gap measures belief and status signaling, not luck.
How Having a Dragon Year Baby Affects the Mother: Zodiac Belief as a Natural Experiment in Economics
Economists use Dragon year birth timing to measure how a first child affects mothers' employment, and what that timing reveals about ethnic identity.
Does the Year of the Dragon Increase Births in Vietnam? Zodiac Belief and Its Traces in Birth Data
Zodiac beliefs may shape birth numbers in Vietnam and East Asia, with larger cohorts in good years and Dragon and Tiger year shifts.
Do Directors Aged 49 to 53 Invest Less? The Tuoi Han Belief and Business Decisions in Vietnamese Firms
A 2024 study of Vietnamese firms links lower fixed asset investment to directors aged 49 to 53, the tuoi han years. The effect is larger in small firms.
Why Vietnamese worship on the first day of the lunar month: the meaning of the Sóc day in folk belief
The Sóc day opens the lunar month. Vietnamese worship ancestors and deities for a smooth month, a custom rooted in yin-yang philosophy.
How to Name a Child Born in the Đinh Mùi 2027 Year to Suit the Mùi Zodiac According to Folk Belief
Folk tips for naming a 2027 Đinh Mùi child: choosing Nho radicals, five elements, and can chi to suit the Mùi zodiac, plus what to avoid.
Từ Đạo Hạnh, Nguyễn Minh Không, Dương Không Lộ: Three Lý-Era Zen Masters in Lĩnh Nam chích quái and in Village Belief
Từ Đạo Hạnh, Nguyễn Minh Không and Dương Không Lộ in Lĩnh Nam chích quái are tales of wonder about three monks of the Lý era, told as tales.
Hungry Ghost Festival on the 15th Day of the 7th Lunar Month: The Meaning of the 'Absolution of the Dead' Ritual in Folk Belief
The Hungry Ghost Festival on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month blends Buddhist and Taoist roots, with offerings for wandering spirits.
Prolonged Sadness: Folk Belief Blames Bad Luck, but Feeling Down for More Than Two Weeks Is a Sign to See a Doctor, and How to Recognize It Yourself
Sadness lasting over two weeks with loss of interest, insomnia, and fatigue is a sign to seek medical help. Learn to tell everyday sadness from depression.
Types of Vietnamese offering rites
155 types of Vietnamese offering rites in 15 groups, from ancestor and death-anniversary rites, Tết and the festivals of the year to funerals, communal houses and temples, and the rites of ethnic communities; each with alternative names, timing, recipients, a short description, classification axes (cycle, social setting, beings worshipped, tradition, ethnic group, cultural region), a structured date and sourced passages on its customs. It is the key table for Nhật Nguyệt's datasets on offering prayers and rite customs.