The illusion of control
Langer reported six studies testing the prediction that adding features of skilled activities, such as competition, choice, familiarity and personal involvement, to chance situations raises people's expectation of success above what the odds justify. Settings: cutting cards against a confident or nervous opponent; lottery tickets with or without a choice, and familiar or unfamiliar; a novel game with or without practice, played personally or by proxy. All six studies supported the prediction. No sample sizes stated in the record.
Langer reported six studies testing the prediction that adding features of skilled activities, such as competition, choice, familiarity and personal involvement, to chance situations raises people's expectation of success above what the odds justify. Settings: cutting cards against a confident or nervous opponent; lottery tickets with or without a choice, and familiar or unfamiliar; a novel game with or without practice, played personally or by proxy. All six studies supported the prediction. No sample sizes stated in the record.
Written from the abstract via OpenAlex record, 2026-11-03; bibliographic details from Crossref; full text not read.
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Langer, E. J. (1975). “The illusion of control.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32(2), 311-328. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.32.2.311 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.32.2.311