In recent years, magicians and scientists have begun collaborating to gain insight into various psychological functions. However, one underexplored area is the use of magic tricks to enhance wellbeing. Several past and current magic programs have been used to enhance cognitive, emotional, social, and physical wellbeing. The application of these wellbeing-focused magic programs ranges from physical and psychological therapies to gang prevention, hospitals and classrooms. A few have been empirically investigated and additional studies have also explored the wellbeing value of magic. These studies are reviewed in light of a proposed hierarchical model based on how magic was applied. Overall, methodologies need improvement but distinctions between levels of the hierarchy can still be observed and are discussed. Furthermore, the positive effects on wellbeing can also be organised into interrelated physical, cognitive, social, and affective components that reflect existing theoretical frameworks on wellbeing. To conclude, possible mechanisms and theoretical frameworks based on more established psychological theories are discussed in order to help guide future research.
The performance art of magic allows us to experience the impossible, and this study used a balancing magic trick to investigate the relationship between participants’ enjoyment and perceived impossibility. Participants watched a live performance of a magic trick in which the magician balanced objects in progressively more impossible configurations. At seven different time points observers rated their enjoyment, and the extent to which they believed what they saw was impossible. Regression analysis revealed that participants’ enjoyment of the magical effect relates to their perceived impossibility of the magic trick, and this relationship was independent of how much they enjoyed magic in general. Moreover, a one-way within-subjects analysis of variance showed that participants enjoyed the performance More as the trick became more impossible. However, once the magical effect was anticipated, enjoyment began to plateau while perceived impossibility continued to increase. These results are discussed in the context of people's aesthetic appreciation of magic and current arts appreciation models.
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