More Than Just a Magic Trick? Exploring an Audience’s Supernatural Attributions for Magicians’ Performances

Performing magicians have long believed that some audience members attribute their magical effects to supernatural methods—to their use of “real magic”. In two samples of adults (n = 412 and 292), we explored personality traits and broader beliefs that might predict supernatural attributions for performance magic. Supernatural attributions were uncommon—many respondents wholly rejected the possibility that magicians’ magic was sometimes real—but nevertheless highly variable. In Study 1, a greater belief that magic tricks at least sometimes involve supernatural powers was associated with relatively higher extraversion, higher neuroticism, and lower openness to experience. In Study 2, random forests suggested that supernatural magic attributions were embedded in a family of paranormal and conspiratorial beliefs, particularly beliefs in psychic powers (reading and influencing thoughts) and precognition (perceiving the future). In both samples, gender, age, and education had small and inconsistent effects, but people who enjoyed performance magic were more likely to endorse supernatural attributions. Taken together, the findings suggest some truth to performing magicians’ suspicions and shed some light on who is more likely to explain magic tricks using supernatural causes.