Belief in Lunar Effects on Human Behavior

Abstract

Questionnaires sent to 325 people indicated that 140 people (43%) held the personal belief that lunar phenomena alter individual behavior. Specifically, mental health professionals (social workers, master's clinical psychologists, nurses' aides, LPNs) held this belief more strongly than other occupational groups.

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).…”

“…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. In effect, the lunar effect would become a self-fulfilling prophecy; dependent variables would be influenced due to acceptance of the lore, rather than due to actual citizen/offender behavior.…”

“…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.…”

“…In working with police officers on a wide range of research projects, the authors frequently heard individuals express the belief that the quality and/or quantity of activity were linked with full moons (see also Lieber, 1996, p. 21). Such beliefs have been systematically verified through surveys of police officers (Rotton et al, 1986;Vance, 1995). The study reported herein examined the lunar-crime relationship using five years of policing, astronomical, and weather data from a major southwestern American city.…”

“…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).…”