What Is Magical Thinking?

What Is Magical Thinking?

People who engage in magical thinking believe that their thoughts, feelings, and/or actions impact their life, despite there being no evidence of a plausible connection. Magical thinking is very common in childhood and can continue into adulthood. While magical thinking can be harmless, it can also be a symptom of a mental health condition, such as magical thinking in OCD.

Magical Thinking Examples

Most people experience instances of magical thinking at some point in their life, especially in childhood. Growing up, people are often taught specific examples of magical thinking, like knocking on wood for good luck or believing in the Easter bunny, whether that be through family members, friends, or the media. Some people hold on to these rituals throughout their lives and continue to engage with them on a regular basis.

Examples of magical thinking include:

Rituals & Traditions

Rituals and traditions are a form of magical thinking that often focus on good luck and fortune. These rituals and traditions are often passed down from generation to generation and are widely spread throughout specific cultures. Engaging in these rituals and traditions often provides people with a sense of security and control over life experiences.

Examples of magical thinking from rituals and traditions include:

• Knocking on wood
• Making a wish before blowing out birthday candles
• Having a ‘lucky’ object, such as an item of clothing
• Crossing your fingers for good luck
• Believing in lucky numbers

Old Wives’ Tales & Superstitions

Old wives’ tales and superstitions are another form of magical thinking that correlates certain circumstances with bad luck and misfortune. These tales and superstitions are often well-known and deep-rooted in history. Many people will avoid superstitious encounters to the best of their ability in order to prevent bad luck and misfortune.

Examples of magical thinking from old wives’ tales and superstitions include:

• Breaking a mirror leads to seven years of bad luck
• Refusing to shave while a sports team is on a winning streak
• Crossing paths with a black cat brings misfortune
• Walking under a ladder results in bad luck
• Spilling salt leads to bad luck and misfortune

Associations

Another type of magical thinking, known as associations, involves the belief that specific outcomes are associated with a particular event. A common example of this lies within the concepts of karma or fate. Although associations are often coincidental, many people believe that their actions are the cause of certain outcomes, even if they do not logically correlate.

Examples of magical thinking from associations include:

• Promising to take your car to the shop so it’ll start
• Yelling at your sister and then losing your voice days later
• Thinking about someone and then running into them the next day
• Donating money to a charity and then getting a pay raise at work
• Canceling plans with a friend in order to go to another event, only for that event to be canceled

Childhood Thoughts

Magical thinking is common in childhood, most notably during preschool years.¹ Jean Piaget, a psychologist focused on childhood cognition, categorized magical thinking into the preoperational stage of development.¹ In this stage, perception is more important than logic. Additionally, children at this age are very egocentric, meaning that they believe their actions can directly influence the world around them.¹

Examples of childhood magical thinking include:

• Keeping a nightlight on will keep monsters away
• Being naughty will result in less Christmas presents from Santa
• The phrase ‘Step on a crack, break your mother’s back’
• Thinking brightly colored foods taste better (ex. Pink cotton candy or bright blue juice)

Unusual Religious Beliefs

Religious beliefs are not clinically considered to be examples of magical thinking because they are a part of a person’s cultural context. However, certain religious beliefs can appear unusual to people who are not part of that particular culture. From that perspective, those peculiar beliefs might appear to be examples of magical thinking.

Examples of unusual religious beliefs that could be thought of as magical thinking include:

• Thinking the end of the world is coming based on certain news stories
• Believing something positive happened because you prayed a certain way
• Believing bad things occurred because you were not pious
• Believing eating certain foods will bring you closer to a Higher Power

Delusions

Delusions are beliefs that are clearly false to everyone other than the person who has the belief. Magical thinking commonly occurs in schizophrenia and other delusional disorders. When this happens, a person’s sense of reality can become distorted. Delusions often contain fears of other people, future events, or hidden meanings. Magical thinking is mostly linked to auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia.²

Examples of delusions involving magical thinking include:

• Believing specific actions must be taken to protect oneself from people “out to get them”
• Attaching meaning to neutral stimuli, such as wearing green means you will have a good day
• Believing someone is listening to them through devices, such as phones or TVs
• Believing a newscaster is communicating messages to them personally
• Thinking public signs contain hidden messages

What Causes Magical Thinking?

There are many causes for magical thinking, ranging from natural causes to mental health concerns. Magical thinking is commonly represented in our world, and most people have engaged with magical thinking at some point in their lives. Starting at a young age, people often learn well-known rituals and superstitions within their culture, which continue throughout generations.

Common causes of magical thinking include:

Natural Childhood Development

Magical thinking is a natural part of childhood development, starting when a child is between the ages of two and five years old.¹ Children start to become aware of the supernatural, such as ghosts and spirits. Through magical thinking, children express creativity and playfulness, both integral components in healthy development. As development continues, magical thinking will often lessen around the age of ten years old.¹

Religious & Cultural Beliefs

Many people engage in rituals or traditions within their religious or cultural backgrounds. Research suggests that there can be an overlap between religious thinking and magical thinking.³ Within religious/cultural traditions, people feel highly connected to their practices and beliefs, which often provides a sense of comfort and peace.

Engaging in rituals or traditions related to one’s religious or cultural background is common practice and seen across various religions and cultures. For example, people in the U.S. have likely heard of knocking on wood to prevent bad luck or avoiding the number ‘666.’ On the other hand, in China, the number ‘4’ is known to be a number that brings bad luck and misfortune.⁴

Mental Health Concerns

Certain mental health disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, and schizophrenia, involve thought disturbances and cognitive distortions, such as magical thinking. People struggling with magical thinking as a symptom of a mental health disorder may become extremely distressed by magical thinking, resulting in day-to-day impairments in functioning.

When Magical Thinking Is a Mental Health Symptom

While some people find magical thinking reassuring, individuals struggling with a mental health condition often find magical thinking to be highly distressing or disturbing. If engaging with magical thinking causes significant distress and impacts your day-to-day life, this may be indicative of a mental health concern.

Mental health conditions associated with magical thinking include:

Magical Thinking OCD

Magical thinking is a common symptom of OCD, a mental health disorder that is characterized by obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. Individuals with magical thinking OCD may experience repetitive, intrusive magical thoughts that may result in compulsions. For example, someone may have the thought to “turn the doorknob three times to the right, or else something bad will happen.” This magical thought drives compulsive behavior.

Schizophrenia & Magical Thinking

Schizophrenia is characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and patterns of disorganized thinking. People with schizophrenia often hold beliefs that are not based on reality. Magical thinking is a common symptom of schizophrenia – specifically, auditory hallucinations are found to be linked to magical thinking.⁷ For example, individuals with schizophrenia may spin in a circle three times before they cross a street because their spirits told them that will keep them safe.

Anxiety & Magical Thinking

Magical thinking can appear in individuals struggling with anxiety. Magical thinking is known to be a common cognitive distortion, as these thoughts are not factually accurate. An individual struggling with anxiety may think that their thoughts hold significant power and can alter the course of reality. For example, someone who is anxious about a job interview may believe that if they stop worrying about it, it will go poorly.

Magical Thinking & Schizotypal Personality Disorder

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) characterizes magical thinking as a possible symptom of schizotypal personality disorder. People with schizotypal personality disorder may relate two uncorrelated circumstances together, placing meaning in coincidences. For example, an individual with schizotypal personality disorder may believe they hold telepathic powers or can change fate by wearing a certain item of clothing.

Are There Any Benefits of Magical Thinking?

Although most people are aware their magical thinking patterns are illogical, there are sometimes benefits to magical thinking that reinforce someone to keep engaging with these beliefs. Magical thinking can help people feel comforted and secure in circumstances that are otherwise out of their control.

Potential benefits of magical thinking include:

Comfort

Engaging in rituals may provide someone with a sense of security and comfort, as we often do not have control over certain life circumstances. Many times, people are trying to find peace in uncertain circumstances. Because of this, they may continue to engage in magical thinking due to the feeling of comfort it provides.

Optimism

Magical thinking can also promote an optimistic view of life. Studies have shown that optimism is directly related to lower levels of stress and anxiety.⁵ Similar to positive psychology approaches, optimism focuses on the positives in life rather than the negatives. Engaging with magical thinking that promotes good luck and fortune may increase optimism in one’s life.

Control

Magical thinking often provides people with a sense of control over uncontrollable circumstances in life. Engaging in rituals may help someone feel as if they are taking action to prevent an outcome in their life. This illusion of control can help one better manage their stress and tolerate feelings of uncertainty.

Confidence

Magical thinking is also associated with an increased sense of self-esteem and confidence. For example, someone may feel more confident performing in an art show if multiple people tell them to “break a leg.” Research even suggests that engaging in superstitions may actually improve one’s performance, as it increases confidence.⁶

Potential Harmful Effects of Magical Thinking

While instances of magical thinking are often harmless or even beneficial, there are also times in which magical thinking can result in distressing emotions, such as fear and anxiety. In some cases, magical thinking can become extremely debilitating. For example, when someone has OCD, they can get stuck in compulsive rituals in an attempt to combat anxiety related to magical thinking.

Some examples of the negative effects of magical thinking include:

• Increased stress and anxiety: Magical thinking can increase experiences of stress and anxiety when it is focused on negative outcomes. If those negative outcomes happen to come true, this can reinforce anticipatory anxiety about future events.
• Distortion of reality: Magical thinking distorts reality when used as a long-term coping mechanism. A person can become fixated on believing the rules of their magical thinking and be unable to incorporate different beliefs into their reality, even if they are factual and logical.
• Over-reliance on magical thoughts: When someone over-relies on magical thinking, they can become stuck in repetitive behaviors. All life goals and behaviors may become tied to outcomes of their magical thinking, resulting in an inability to try new experiences or ideas.
• Extreme thinking: Magical thinking can pull someone’s beliefs into the furthest ends of the spectrum, resulting in extremist beliefs. When this happens, a person may become blinded by their beliefs and unable to maintain relationships, work, or personal obligations unrelated to their magical ideas.

How to Manage Your Magical Thinking

There are many strategies for managing magical thinking. Therapy is often the standard treatment for unhealthy magical thinking, as you can receive a diagnosis and collaborative care. Identifying triggers, differentiating types of magical thinking, delaying thoughts, and using thought experiments are some strategies for combatting magical thinking episodes, all of which may be done with the help of a professional.

Here are some strategies for managing magical thinking: 

• Get professional help: Therapy can help you receive a diagnosis and treatment plan for combatting your magical thinking.
• Journal about your thought processes and potential causes for them: Journaling can help you identify triggers and patterns for your magical thinking. You can bring your journal to therapy sessions to review patterns and process core causes of the thoughts.
• Distinguish between common superstitions and problematic distortions: Some magical thinking can be harmless. Differentiating between common types of magical thinking and more extremist beliefs can help you plan which thoughts might need to be targeted in therapy.
• Delay acting on your magical thinking: “Pressing pause” before acting on your urges can help you process beliefs behind magical thinking. Through not immediately acting on the thoughts, you can help yourself decide if the belief is harmless, beneficial, or problematic.
• Play out thought experiments for your magical thoughts: A thought experiment involves running through the consequences of believing your magical thought. It can help you decide if this particular thought is one that is neutral, helpful, or distorted.

Therapy Options for Magical Thinking

Magical thinking is a common mental health symptom that can be treated with the help of a mental health professional. People may benefit from therapy, medication, or a combination of the two. If you or a loved one is struggling with magical thinking, there are evidence-based modalities of psychotherapy that can be helpful in challenging and managing symptoms.

Therapy options for magical thinking include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. CBT helps individuals replace unhelpful thinking patterns with more helpful, rational thoughts. CBT techniques can help individuals learn how to challenge and rationalize their magical thinking patterns.
• Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP): ERP involves gradually exposing one to anxiety-provoking stimuli. ERP is widely known to be helpful in treating OCD. ERP helps people face their fears and disengage from compulsions related to magical thinking.
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT focuses on psychological flexibility. ACT helps individuals cope with and accept difficult emotions while also connecting to one’s values. Through ACT, people can learn how to disengage from magical thinking patterns while reconnecting with their core values.

To find a therapist who specializes in magical thinking, you can utilize online therapy options to find a therapist or check out an online therapy directory. If you believe you may have OCD, using an online program like NOCD could also be a great way to get started with treatment.