{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T09:04:15Z","timestamp":1790327055345,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"PeerJ","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790294400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"MacEwan University Office of Research Services","id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02yrzyf97","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Conjuring tricks often contain two components: The effect (an apparently impossible happening) and the method (the secret of the trick). Prior scales have assessed individuals\u2019 general liking for magic, but not examined their interest in the effect and method. This paper validates a new scale (Method-Effect Scale; MES) measuring people\u2019s preference for these two components and examines its relationship with several variables including a general liking for magic, wonder, pseudoscientific beliefs and thinking style. Adult participants (\n                    <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u00a0=\u00a0922) completed an online survey containing the MES, Loathing of Legerdemain Scale, Capacity for Wonder Scale (CFW), Inventory of Epistemically Unwarranted Beliefs Scale (EUB), Rational Experiential Inventory (REI), and demographic questions. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that the MES had two distinct factors (Effect and Method) and strong internal reliability (overall\n                    <jats:italic>\u03b1<\/jats:italic>\n                    = .83: method\n                    <jats:italic>\u03b1<\/jats:italic>\n                    = .86: effect\n                    <jats:italic>\u03b1<\/jats:italic>\n                    = .77). Significant positive correlations emerged between both MES subscales, the CFW subscales, and the EUB scientific knowledge subscale. The MES Method subscale was positively correlated with the REI\u2019s Need for Cognition and Faith in Intuition subscales, and negatively associated with some EUB subscales (conspiracy theory, religion, and health). The MES Effect subscale was positively associated with the EUB ghost subscale and negatively correlated with the conspiracy theory subscale. These results suggest that the MES is a valid and reliable measure, and we discuss how this new measure can help researchers obtain a more fine-grained insight into participant\u2019s perception of magic, and how magicians can employ it to improve their performances.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.21742","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T08:20:23Z","timestamp":1790324423000},"page":"e21742","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A magical experience or a puzzle: how do people watch conjuring tricks?"],"prefix":"10.7717","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Dawson","family":"von Stein","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Richard","family":"Wiseman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"David C.","family":"Watson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rodney","family":"Schmaltz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"4443","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"10.7717\/peerj.21742\/ref-1","volume-title":"The aronson approach","author":"Aronson","year":"1990"},{"issue":"2","key":"10.7717\/peerj.21742\/ref-2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.5502\/ijw.v9i2.740","article-title":"The crossroads of magic and wellbeing: a review of wellbeing-focused magic programs, empirical studies, and conceivable theories","volume":"9","author":"Bagienski","year":"2019","journal-title":"International Journal of Wellbeing"},{"issue":"3","key":"10.7717\/peerj.21742\/ref-3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"243","DOI":"10.1037\/cns0000332","article-title":"Mastering the impossible: piloting an easier-than-expected magic intervention that acts as a source of self-efficacy","volume":"9","author":"Bagienski","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice"},{"issue":"4","key":"10.7717\/peerj.21742\/ref-4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"337","DOI":"10.1037\/h0067333","article-title":"Reverse illusions of orientation","volume":"1","author":"Binet","year":"1894","journal-title":"Psychological Review"},{"issue":"7","key":"10.7717\/peerj.21742\/ref-5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"955","DOI":"10.1177\/0146167215585728","article-title":"Non-reflective thinkers are predisposed to attribute supernatural causation to uncanny experiences","volume":"41","author":"Bouvet","year":"2015","journal-title":"Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin"},{"issue":"1","key":"10.7717\/peerj.21742\/ref-6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.1177\/09637214241300107","article-title":"What can conjuring tell us about cognition? 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