Most of us can remember both good and bad things about ourselves. Sometimes we offend someone, sometimes we make them happy. Sometimes we accidentally hurt another, sometimes we help. We believe that the good will surely be rewarded, and the bad will backfire in the future. But is it? Is there any scientific support for our belief in «karma»?
Sometimes we do things that we are not very proud of. And if after a while something unpleasant happens to us, sometimes we begin to think that we deserved failure, that it is retribution for that impartial act.
“A few years ago, I was getting into a car in a parking lot and found a piece of glass right under the left front wheel,” recalls psychotherapist Nicholas Davydowski. — In order not to damage the tire, I got out and kicked the fragment away — alas, too hard, and it landed right under the wheel of someone else’s car. And I didn’t climb to get him, but simply “ran away from the scene of the crime” — I jumped into the car and left. Four months later, I was driving down the highway, rushing to a conference where I was supposed to speak. Suddenly he heard a loud bang. Even the car shook.
I got out to see what was wrong and found that the front left wheel had almost exploded. His pieces were scattered along the highway. It was necessary to call the technical service — I could not have done it myself. And, of course, now I was catastrophically late for the conference and did not have time to deliver a speech. It was then that I remembered the shameful act in the parking lot. I deserve it, I thought. “My deed returned to me. It’s karma.»
But did the tire really explode because Nicholas Davydowski had done something wrong? Rationally speaking, these actions were unrelated. They were separated by several months, moreover, they took place in different parts of the country.
What makes people look for a connection between actions and events that are not physically connected in any way?
Of course, everyone knows about the so-called «butterfly effect»: any of our actions changes the future, shapes reality, creates a chain of events for months, years ahead. So could Davydowski’s act set off a chain of events that eventually led to the tire blowing? Theoretically, it could. But logically it doesn’t make any sense. And meanwhile, deep down, says Nicholas Davydowski, he was sure that there was a connection.
Is it worth it to «believe in karma»?
Working with Aaron Kay, a psychology student at Stanford, Davydowski conducted a series of experiments to understand the psychological processes behind the butterfly effect or karma. What makes people look for a connection between actions and events that are not physically connected in any way?
Half of the participants in the experiment were told that they were «lucky» — their ID numbers were called «lucky», and therefore these students will have the opportunity to take part in the most important study. The other half of the students were «unfortunate»: their IDs were «unlucky» and they were told that they would not take part in an important study.
Later, in an apparently unresearch-related test, all participants were asked to recall good and bad deeds they had done in the past. Those participants whose numbers turned out to be “unlucky” mostly remembered the bad things they did, while the other half remembered the good things. Moreover, the effect was more pronounced for those participants who said they believed in universal justice.
During the next phase of the study, the participants were again divided into two groups: some had “lucky” numbers, and others had “unlucky” numbers. Each was asked to recall random, independent of him, successes and failures that have happened to him lately. Those whose numbers turned out to be “happy” remembered more failures, and those who were among the “losers” this time remembered mostly successes.
When we do something good, we expect “good luck” to be the reward for a good deed.
It is logical to assume that the participants tried to find a balance between successes and failures. It was as if they were trying to “balance” the “unlucky” number with a happy event from the past, and “happy” — to “repay” a little with failure.
Committing an unseemly deed, we seek to atone for it with a good deed. Or — we get stuck on this event and subconsciously wait for a failure that could be associated with this act.
“For me, a blown tire that prevented me from speaking at a conference was a setback that made up for my bad deed when I kicked a piece of glass under someone else’s car. And it’s not that these two events were actually connected — it was enough for me to feel that I finally got what I deserved for a bad offense, ”Davydovsky recalls. Until an event that compensates for our bad deed does not occur, we will consciously or subconsciously wait for its occurrence.
Accordingly, doing something good, we are waiting for «good luck», which will be a reward for a good deed. We remember the good things we did in the past and feel that the world is just. A good deed was rewarded.
Whether you believe in karma or not, most of us are psychologically predisposed to correlate unrelated events. Simply because we tend to believe in justice, harmony and that we can at least control something in this unpredictable world.
About the Expert: Nicholas Davydowski is a psychotherapist and professor of psychology at the University of California. Teaches courses in perception, illusions and face recognition.