Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
J Exp Psychol Gen. 2012 Feb;141(1):26-30. doi: 10.1037/a0023997. Epub 2011 Jun 27.
Many superstitious practices entail the belief that good or bad luck can be "washed away." Consistent with this belief, participants who recalled (Experiment 1) or experienced (Experiment 2) an episode of bad luck were more willing to take risk after having as opposed to not having washed their hands, whereas participants who recalled or experienced an episode of good luck were less willing to take risk after having as opposed to not having washed their hands. Thus, the psychological effects of physical cleansings extend beyond the domain of moral judgment and are independent of people's motivation: incidental washing not only removes undesirable traces of the past (such as bad luck) but also desirable ones (such as good luck), which people would rather preserve.
许多迷信行为都包含一种信念，即好运或坏运可以“被洗去”。与这种信念一致的是，参与者在回忆（实验 1）或经历（实验 2）了一段坏运气之后，更愿意冒险，而在洗手前后则不太愿意冒险；而那些回忆或经历了一段好运的参与者，在洗手前后则更不愿意冒险。因此，身体清洁的心理影响不仅超出了道德判断的范畴，而且独立于人们的动机：偶然的洗手不仅可以去除过去的不良痕迹（如坏运），也可以去除过去的良好痕迹（如好运），而人们更愿意保留这些良好痕迹。
