Beliefs about superstition and luck in externally university students believers.

Purpose: the relationships between locus of control and beliefs about superstition and luck in 177 students attending the Psychology, Pedagogy, and Engineering Degree Courses at the University of Catania, Sicily (Italy). Method: Locus of Control of Behavior Scale, the Personal Beliefs in Superstition Scale, the Personal Beliefs in Good Luck Scale, and Semantic Differentials about “luck” and “superstition”. Results: psychology and pedagogy students were externally LoC-believers more than engineering ones; additionally, psychology and pedagogy students expressed a greater personal belief in good luck than engineering ones. External LoC had positive effects on beliefs about superstition and good luck, and representation of luck. Internal LoC had negative effects on the representation of superstition. It will be interesting to analyze the influence of personality factors on beliefs about superstition and luck.