Beyond the Tricks: The Science and Comparative Cognition of Magic.

Publisher: Annual Reviews Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0372374 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1545-2085 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00664308 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Annu Rev Psychol Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Palo Alto Ca : Annual Reviews
Original Publication: Palo Alto, Calif., Annual Reviews, inc.

Magic*/history ; Magic*/psychology ; Cognition*; Humans ; Attention

Magic is an art form that has fascinated humans for centuries. Recently, the techniques used by magicians to make their audience experience the impossible have attracted the attention of psychologists, who, in just a couple of decades, have produced a large amount of research regarding how these effects operate, focusing on the blind spots in perception and roadblocks in cognition that magic techniques exploit. Most recently, this investigation has given a pathway to a new line of research that uses magic effects to explore the cognitive abilities of nonhuman animals. This new branch of the scientific study of magic has already yielded new evidence illustrating the power of magic effects as a psychological tool for nonhuman animals. This review aims to give a thorough overview of the research on both the human and nonhuman perception of magic effects by critically illustrating the most prominent works of both fields of inquiry.

Keywords: attention; comparative cognition; magic; perception; science of magic; sleight of hand

Date Created: 20240118 Date Completed: 20240122 Latest Revision: 20240122

20240122

10.1146/annurev-psych-012723-100945

38236652