'Superstitions all about trying to control fate'

A psychology professor has said that superstitions are behaviors that people perform in an attempt to affect or control their future.

Don Saucier, associate professor of psychology, Kansas State University, said superstitious behaviors are a way people think they can control their fate by performing certain tasks in a certain way to either help alleviate anxiety or to simply better their chances in a certain situation.

He said that people believe in superstitions to try to restore some prediction and control to their world.

Saucier asserted that not knowing what will happen to them is discomforting, and performing superstitious behavior can make people feel a little better about the future.

Saucier said that theoretically, any behavior could be a superstition if a person associates that behavior incorrectly with a positive or negative event that follows.