German scientists recently ran four experiments showing that superstitious people performed better at their assigned tasks because they believed luck was on their side. The method and results of the experiments were recently published in the journal Psychological Science and demonstrated that those subjects who were led to believe that they had a higher chance of success in the experiment were in fact more successful. “What’s interesting is that superstition works, because it improves confidence, lets you set higher goals and encourages you to work harder,” says The Guardian, reporting on the study.