Gamblers are a Superstitious Bunch

John Pickrell:

Griffiths surveyed 412 bingo players to find that 4% reported having a lucky friend, 5% a lucky night of the week, 6% a lucky mascot (such as a rabbit's foot), 13% lucky and unlucky numbers and 21% a lucky seat they would prefer to sit in.

Amazingly, 29% reported that they believed changing to a lucky bingo pen, or "dobber", was a common strategy to reverse a losing streak. These beliefs are based on "illusory correlations" between random events and gambling success, says Griffiths.

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