Friday the 13th is here, superstitious people beware

Friday the 13th is a frightening time for many, but one expert says these superstitions can be fun.

Psychology Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, Steve Joordens, says that people feel as if they can help control random situations from happening using superstitions.

“I think it’s fun. There’s the issue of this illusion of control. But then there’s also this sort of flirtation with the supernatural that I think we all have,” said Joordens. “We want to be rational and say, ‘no, we know that’s not true,’ but it’s kind of fun to think it is — the supernatural kind of fascinates us.”

Although humans have studied science for hundreds of years, many people still believe in the supernatural. Whether it’s avoiding ladders or black cats, people become especially warry during days like Friday the 13th.

Interestingly, the folklore shrouding black cats differs from culture to culture. In the U.S. and some European countries, having a black cat cross your path is considered bad luck while in the UK and Japan, it’s regarded as a mark of good fortune.

Black cats appear in the folklore of many more cultures as both good and bad omens. In some European folklore, black cats are considered common companions of witches and bringers of misfortune if they happened to cross your path. Photo courtesy: Nathan Riley.

Superstitions are typically “emotion-driven”

The reason that many still believe in the supernatural is because of the ancient, primitive part of their brain called the limbic system, Joordens told CityNews. This section at the back of the brain is where a lot of emotional and instinctual responses come from. Whereas our frontal lobes have developed through evolution and are used to develop rational thoughts.

“We want to think everything we do is logical and rational,” said Joordens. “In fact, most of what we do is emotion-driven. A lot of these superstitions are emotion-driven, you’re trying to avoid danger or you’re trying to make the [Toronto Maple] Leafs win — it’s something you care about.”

Tomorrow’s Friday the 13th???? pic.twitter.com/6AJUgukrJZ

— Payton Domschke (@PaytonDomschke) May 12, 2022

Joordens said that the emotional part of the brain is much more powerful than we think. Those who believe Friday the 13th will bring bad luck are more likely to notice bad things happening to them.

“One thing they have to be aware of is something that’s called confirmation bias, which is once you believe something to be true, then you look for the evidence of it to be true. And you tend to ignore evidence that it’s not true,” he said.

Joordens suggests that people should just have fun with the day.

“Rationally you’re not in danger. It’s just the stimuli making your body feel like it is. The day may make us feel a little tingly, a little worried,” he said.

“So maybe just enjoy that tingly feeling and have fun with it. Keep in mind that there’s nothing scary about it.”