A Scale for Assessing Belief in Lunar Effects: Reliability and Concurrent Validity

Abstract

Normative, reliability, and validity data for a short (9-item) scale that assesses belief in lunar effects are presented. As hypothesized, scores on this scale were correlated with those on instruments measuring belief in paranormal phenomena. It is suggested that the construct validity of belief in paranormal phenomena can be improved by including this brief scale in research on superstitious behavior.It is not at all unusual for investigators to justify research on lunar cycles and abnormal behavior by suggesting that many people believe that a full moon affects behavior. More than one author has argued that there must be a "kernel of t r u t h in belief that a supposedly large number of people hold.Yet, surprisingly little is known about the extent and depth of lunar beliefs.Dingman, Cleland, and Swartz (1970) found that about 4% of the attendants in mental institutions spontaneously mentioned the fun moon as a cause of abberant behavior. In another study of psychiatric personnel, Angus (1974) found that approximately 74% (64 out of 86) of nurses indicated that they believed that the moon had an effect upon mental illness. In a more recent study, Russell and Dua (1983) found that 45% of 402 students taking introductory psychology at a Canadian university endorsed an item indicative of general belief in lunar influences. Similar levels of belief have been documented among students at another Canadian university and in Singapore (Otis & Kuo, 1984). Finally, Jorgenson (1981) obtained a number of positive correlations berween locus of control and willingness to attribute emotional states to lunar cycles. As might be expected, individuals with an external locus of control were more willing to attribute their own and other people's emotional states to a full moon than those with an internal locus of control.Although several scales have been developed to assess belief in occult and paranormal phenomena, none of them include items that measure belief in lunar influences. However, lunar beliefs share much in common with astrology and other paranormal phenomena. Mosc definitions of the paranormal refer to phenomena which "cannot be explained in terms of presently accepted theories of nature because they violate one or more of the basic assumptions, or axioms, of the current scientific worldview" (Alcock, 1981, p. 3 ) . The idea ,that phases of che moon influence behavior violates one of the basic limiting principles of science: behavior or "mind can only be directly 'Requests for reprints should be sent to James Rotton, Psychology Department, Florida International University, North Miami, FL 33181.

Are Investors Moonstruck? - Lunar Phases and Stock Returns

“…Rotton and Kelly (1985a) find that 49.4% of the respondents to their survey believe in lunar phenomena.…”

Bad moon on the rise? Lunar cycles and incidents of crime

“…Prior studies were confirmed here; there was no clear evidence that lunar cycles had more than marginal (and likely spurious) explanatory power in understanding levels of crime and disorder. Although popular culture, folk lore, and even certain occupational lore suggested the "freaks" come out during full moons (Lieber, 1996;Rotton & Kelly, 1985;Rotton et al, 1986;Vance, 1995), this phenomenon was not reflected in San Antonio police data as used here. Though a small number of associations were noted between lunar phase and various aspects of criminal and disorderly conduct, this was a common element of prior research and could have been a probable effect of the large number of associations under consideration (i.e., a spurious finding).…”

“…This logic, however, allows for the introduction of officer discretion. Given that lunar effects are embedded in collective western beliefs (Lieber, 1996;Rotton & Kelly, 1985;Rotton et al, 1986), affects observed in areas heavily influenced by officer discretion (such as the decision to arrest, file an official report, or make referrals) could suffer from social contagion (Purpura, 1979;Simon, 1998). If officers accept that there are lunar effects (Rotton et al, 1986;Vance, 1995) they may opt for differential handling of situations based on lunar phase.…”

“…There are several reasons to hypothesize that lunar cycles may influence crime, either due to direct effects on human behavior or as a factor influencing rational offenders. First and foremost, though not directly tested in this study, research has shown that belief in lunar effects continued to be strong (Russell & Dua, 1983), including among police officers (Rotton & Kelly, 1985;Rotton et al, 1986;Vance, 1995) and tended to be associated with beliefs in other paranormal phenomena (Rotton & Kelly, 1985). Officers have the benefit of directly observing the aftermath of criminal incidents; their experiences may provide them with unique insights into lunar effects, or police culture may simply perpetuate false beliefs about lunar effects.…”

“…The root of the word "lunatic" is "luna," Latin for "moon" (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2008). Even in contemporary times with considerable advances in scientific knowledge, there was a continued belief that lunar phases effect human behavior (Lieber, 1996;Rotton & Kelly, 1985;Rotton, Kelly, & Elortegui, 1986) including limited evidence of a high rate of belief among mental health care providers (Vance, 1995). An on-going debate concerned whether lunar effects could be empirically verified; that is, whether "a disproportionate number of deviant or abnormal episodes occur when the moon is full" (Culver, Rotton, & Kelly, 1988, p. 684).…”