The enjoyment of negative emotions in the experience of magic

Leddington, Jason

doi:10.1017/s0140525x17001777

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Magic allows us to experience the impossible, and it creates a conflict between the things we experience and the things we believe to be possible. Rather surprisingly, very little is known about the psychological factors that underpin this experience or wonder and astonishment that these illusions elicit (Kuhn, 2019;Leddington, 2016bLeddington, , 2017. Many of our subjects were truly surprised by the magician's ability to predict their choice, and experienced modest levels of wonder (mean = 5.5, on a scale from 1 -10).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Forcing you to experience wonder: Unconsciously biasing people’s choice through strategic physical positioning

Kuhn

Pailhès

Lan

2020

Consciousness and Cognition

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Magicians have developed powerful tools to covertly force a spectator to choose a specific card. We investigate the physical location force, in which four cards (from left to right: 1-2-3-4) are placed face-down on the table in a line, after which participants are asked to push out one card. The force is thought to rely on a behavioural bias in that people are more likely to choose the third card from their left. Participants felt that their choice was extremely free, yet 60% selected the 3rd card. There was no significant difference in estimates and feelings of freedom between those who chose the target card (i.e. 3rd card) and those who selected a different card, and they underestimated the actual proportion of people who selected the target card. These results illustrate that participants' behaviour was heavily biased towards choosing the third card, but were oblivious to this bias.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Forcing you to experience wonder: Unconsciously biasing people’s choice through strategic physical positioning

Kuhn

Pailhès

Lan

2020

Consciousness and Cognition

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“…The dimension they found most associated with wellbeing is stress tolerance, which entails a willingness to embrace doubt or confusion that arises from unexpected or mysterious events. Witnessing magic is an unexpected (Parris et al, 2009) and mysterious event, yet these intense emotions are experienced in a safe and entertaining environment (Leddington, 2017). Thus, the enjoyment and wonder from magic might help condition people's attitudes toward uncertainty and help them embrace this uncertainty.…”

Section: Witnessing Magicmentioning

confidence: 99%

The crossroads of magic and wellbeing: A review of wellbeing-focused magic programs, empirical studies, and conceivable theories

Bagienski¹,

Kuhn²

2019

Intnl. J. Wellbeing

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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.

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“…rabbit appeared inside what seemed to be an empty hat). Witnessing such events elicits a wide range of emotions, such as wonder, awe, surprise, astonishment, curi-osity… (Lamont, 2017;Leddington, 2017). However, at the centre of this experience lies a cognitive conflict between the things we believe to be possible, and the things that we believe to have experienced (Kuhn, 2019;Leddington, 2016).…”

Section: What Is Misdirection? -Magicians' Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Misdirection – Magic, Psychology and its Application

Kuhn

Kingori

Grietens

2022

S&TS

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The art of magic relies on deception and illusions to create human experiences that appear impossible. Misdirection lies at the heart of this deceptive art, and yet there is little consensus as to what this concept aims to describe. The concept of misdirection is not limited to magic, and its principles are applied to wide aspects of our lives (e.g., politics, public health, marketing). In recent years, scientists have started to examine the psychological mechanisms that underpin misdirection and new theoretical frameworks have been developed to help understand the concept itself. This paper will provide two different perspectives on misdirection. In the first section we will discuss its use in magic and examine some of the key features involved in using misdirection to create magical illusions. This section will examine some common misconceptions of misdirection. The second section will provide a psychological perspective that discusses the key psychological mechanisms that are involved in misdirection (perception, memory, reasoning). This paper aims to provide a clearer understanding of how misdirection is used in magic which can serve as the basis for its use in other domains, such as public health.

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The enjoyment of negative emotions in the experience of magic

Cited by 9 publications

References 4 publications

Forcing you to experience wonder: Unconsciously biasing people’s choice through strategic physical positioning

Forcing you to experience wonder: Unconsciously biasing people’s choice through strategic physical positioning

The crossroads of magic and wellbeing: A review of wellbeing-focused magic programs, empirical studies, and conceivable theories

Misdirection – Magic, Psychology and its Application

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