“Engaging Psychology Students and Promoting Learning through Magic”

In October, the Society for the Teaching of Psychology Annual Conference on Teaching will host a symposium on magic in the classroom. I am pleased to team up with Emily Stark of Minnesota State University Mankato and Jacob Gibson of Washington and Lee University to demonstrate some of the ways that magic can serve as a tool to promote engagement and learning. Here’s what you can expect:

Critical thinking skills are central to the discipline of psychology and are expected of students in a variety of college programs. The APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major (APA, 2013) include critical thinking as a broad goal, with specific skills of demonstrating psychology information literacy, using scientific reasoning, problem-solving, and research design. Numerous activities have been developed and used in psychology courses that give students an opportunity to apply critical thinking to understanding psychological concepts. This symposium will highlight people affiliated with the Science of Magic Association (SoMA) who have incorporated elements of magic and magic tricks to encourage critical thinking or support the teaching of psychology. Magic provides a perfect opportunity for students to examine their own assumptions about a situation and to realize how easily their assumptions, perceptions, and expectations can be manipulated by a skilled magician. Magic tricks exploit automatic assumptions and heuristics that allow for quick decisions in the natural world. As such, they can be a powerful tool for exemplifying the fallibility of cognitive systems and encouraging students to engage in skeptical, critical thought.  Symposium participants will discuss the ways they have used magic in their specific courses, including recommendations for other instructors. All presenters have found that magic tricks engage students beyond many other types of course activities and are a unique window into understanding human perception and belief.

Be sure to say hello if you’ll be joining us in the Twin Cities!

"Big Five personality traits, curiosity, and exploration in the world’s best magicians"

Napora, W., & Barnhart, A. S. (2025). Big Five personality traits, curiosity, and exploration in the world’s best magicians. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000745

My Polish collaborator, Wojciech Napora, and I have just released the culmination of some of our research exploring the personalities of FISM award-winning magicians. We are proud that the work is being featured in the top-tier journal, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. Wojciech spearheaded this work during the pandemic, when he personally recruited 50 FISM winners to participate...No small feat! https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000745

"Identifying the Boundaries of Magic"

Back during pandemic times, I was awarded a sabbatical from Carthage College. Part of my sabbatical project involved gaining some training in qualitative research methods. This week, I published my very first paper using those methods. The paper, entitled "Identifying the Boundaries of Magic: A Qualitative Study of Expert Magicians" was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Performance Magic. My collaborators, Sarah Tuchel, Gustav Kuhn, Dan Simons, and I set out to understand expert magicians' attitudes about where magic ends and other performance arts begin. Interviewees included: Joe Diamond, Jamy Ian Swiss, Carisa Hendrix, Jeanette Andrews, Tom Stone, and David Parr. Video from the interviews is available on Science of Magic Association website at: https://scienceofmagicassoc.org/blog/2024/7/1/interview-series-on-magic-misdirection

Sarah Tuchel and I presented this work at the 2023 British Society of Aesthetics workshop on the "Art & Aesthetics of Illusion." You can view a video version of that presentation here.

Yahoo!News piece on the psychology of magic

Just in time for Halloween, a piece has been released on Yahoo!Life outlining six psychological techniques that magicians use to deceive you. I was quoted a handful of times in the story. Have a look!
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/magic-works-magicians-share-6-090006410.html

“Do You Believe in Magic?”

I had the pleasure to be featured in a new popular science book for young readers. “Do You Believe in Magic” explores the history of scientific interest in magical phenomena and why humans seem to have an inherent tendency toward belief in the supernatural. Author Laura Krantz interviewed experts from a variety of fields to better understand the history of belief in alchemy, magical potions, curses, and other superstitions. She also traced these beliefs forward into some of the psychology that allows modern theatrical magicians to shape the beliefs and perceptions of their audiences.

Krantz visited me in Kenosha to accompany me to a magic performance by my buddy, Joe Diamond. She later interviewed us on the interplay of science and magic…and some of the historical conflicts between the two endeavors. Ultimately, Krantz concluded that magic (in every sense of the word) has a place in the modern world, saying:

“Mysteries and things that seem like magic keep us asking questions. Even when we do know the answers, it doesn’t have to make what we’re wondering about feel any less like magic. And it’s that feeling of magic — of wonder, of curiosity, of possibility — that’s magical in and of itself, even if there are no wands involved.”