The Influence of Superstitious Beliefs On Decision Making Among Housewives and Working Women: A Comparative Study

Superstitious beliefs remain prevalent across cultures despite being fundamentally incompatible with scientific reasoning, yet their relationship with decision-making styles remains underexplored in South Asian contexts. This study examined the influence of superstitious beliefs on decision-making styles among housewives and working women in Pakistan. A sample of 250 women (125 housewives, 125 working women) completed the Superstitious Beliefs Scale (SBS) and the General Decision-Making Style (GDMS) inventory. Pearson correlations, hierarchical regression, and MANOVA were employed to analyze the data. Results revealed that superstitious beliefs were significantly positively correlated with avoidant (r = .34, p < .01), dependent (r = .28, p < .01), and intuitive (r = .19, p < .01) decision-making styles, while showing a significant negative correlation with rational style (r = -.25, p < .01). Hierarchical regression confirmed that superstitious beliefs significantly predicted avoidant decision-making (β = .32, p < .001) even after controlling for age and education. MANOVA found that there were significant differences between groups (Wilks Λ =.824, p =.001), with the housewives scoring higher on superstitious beliefs, social superstitious behavior, belief in bad luck, dependent style, and avoidant style, and working women scored higher on the rational style. The results discuss the significance of occupational roles in influencing cognitive processes and the importance of culturally sensitive interventions to support rational decision-making in Pakistani women.