Superstitious Behavior Among American and Japanese Professional Baseball Players

Abstract

We examined the use of superstitious behavior by major league baseball players in the United States and Japan. The majority of professional players in both countries reported using superstitious behaviors but expressed little confidence that the behavior actually affected outcomes. Consistent with the uncertainty hypothesis, the more players believed luck affected outcomes during the game, the more they engaged in superstitious behavior. American players tended to be more superstitious than Japanese players. American players were more likely than the Japanese players to believe their superstitions aided their individual performance, whereas Japanese players were more likely than Americans to believe their superstitions helped the team performance.