Loch Ness · VERIFIED OR VIBES? · Lucky charms
By Camille G., founder of Loch Ness · Published September 27, 2026 · Last updated September 27, 2026
This is the detailed story behind our answer to do lucky charms work?: one study, one replication, and why the second one matters.
The original experiments (2010)
| Experiment | What participants got | Task | Participants per group |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A golf ball described as “lucky” | Putting | 14 |
| 2 | “I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you” | Motor dexterity | 17 |
| 3 | Their own lucky charm, present | Memory game | 20 |
| 4 | Their own lucky charm, present | Anagrams | 15 |
Group sizes come from the table in the replication paper (ResearchGate). All four experiments reported better performance in the “lucky” condition, and the fourth suggested people with their charm set higher goals and kept going longer (Medical Xpress).
Why small groups are a problem
With 14 to 20 people per group, a few lucky or unlucky participants can swing the result. Small studies can find large effects that later shrink or vanish. That is why replications matter: the same experiment, run again, ideally with more people.
The replication (2014)
Calin-Jageman and Caldwell repeated the golf experiment twice, with much larger samples. People told their ball was lucky performed almost identically to controls. The authors ruled out low statistical power, task difficulty and differences in belief in luck, and a meta-analysis found large variation between studies of superstition and performance (Social Psychology, 2014).
Verdict: 🔴 Vibes only — for “a lucky charm improves your performance”, the best-controlled test so far found nothing.
What this doesn’t say
It doesn’t say charms are pointless, or that people who wear them are foolish. It says one specific claim, the performance boost, isn’t supported. Wearing a charm because it means something to you needs no study.
Sources
- ResearchGate — Replication paper, with the original study table
- Medical Xpress — Superstition and performance (2010)
- Calin-Jageman & Caldwell, Social Psychology (2014)
Update log
September 27, 2026 — First publication.
About the author — Camille G., founder of Loch Ness
Full-stack developer and self-taught jewelry maker since 2013, Camille designs and codes every interactive experience on Loch Ness Lab — from the healing crystal bracelet configurator to the free tools at lochness-paris.com/apps, including the research behind the creativity test’s scoring algorithm.