News Finding: "This is sort of the same thing responsible for a lot of superstitions over the span of human history.
Paper Finding: A MANOVA on the dependent variables revealed a significant multivariate effect of the manipulation, F(3, 201) = 2.64, p = .050; η 2 = .04.
News Context: If we couldn't see any patterns, we'd be doomed to make the same mistakes over and over. "This is sort of the same thing responsible for a lot of superstitions over the span of human history. That's why we get those beliefs of good or bad luck - because we constructed a pattern based on the evidence available at the time."
Paper Context: If this were true, one would expect that evaluating the structured Vasarely paintings, in which most people detect patterns, would increase these beliefs as compared to evaluating the unstructured Pollock paintings, which most people consider to be relatively chaotic and devoid of patterns. A MANOVA on the dependent variables revealed a significant multivariate effect of the manipulation, F(3, 201) = 2.64, p = .050; η 2 = .04. The univariate effect was significant for belief in existing conspiracy theories, F(1, 203) = 6.84, p = .010, η 2 = .03, and for supernatural beliefs, F(1, 203) = 3.89, p = .050; η 2 = .02, but not for belief in fictitious conspiracy theories, F(1, 203) = 1.15, p = .284.