Magic!

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Researcher finds method behind magic
May 10th, 2012 in Psychology & Psychiatry


(Medical Xpress) -- A magician will have the upper hand because he
knows how his
trick works. But, according to Jay Olson, the magician might not know
why.

A recent study co-authored by Olson, a Simon Fraser University
psychology
teaching assistant, investigates the mindset behind card magic. It
says that
while the participant may think they have a free choice of any card,
there are a
number of patterns suggesting otherwise.

For example, the study found that when asked to name a playing card,
most people
chose only one of four: the ace, queen or king of hearts, or the ace
of spades.
Unexpectedly, women chose the king of hearts more than men did, and
men chose
the queen of hearts more than women. The magician's trick is to
exploit these
patterns.

The next step, according to Olson, is to apply the findings to a
broader field
than just magic; to see how the mind works. Understanding how
magicians are able
to influence people could lead to a better understanding of memory,
decision-making and awareness.

"We hope this study will promote more collaboration between
psychologists and
magicians," says Olson. "This will help us learn more about magic from
psychology, and more about psychology from magic."

The full study is available online from the psychology journal,
Perception.

Provided by Simon Fraser University


"Researcher finds method behind magic." May 10th, 2012.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-method-magic.html