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luck
You believe you control events that are entirely random.
A 1975 study showed that people overestimate their chances of winning a game of pure luck if they have performed a personal ritual, like choosing their own lottery ticket.
The illusion of control is a psychological tendency to overestimate one's influence over independent events. When you apply effort or active decision-making to a situation, your brain erroneously links those actions to the final outcome.
Effort is not always a proxy for impact.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Langer, 1975
- What the check found
- The claim is accurate as it refers to Ellen Langer's seminal 1975 paper 'The illusion of control'. The provided reference text contains a different author by the same name and is thus irrelevant.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.