Also, a questionnaire was used to test the degree of belief in the lunar hypothesis among the city police, emergency room personnel, and college students. The hypothesis was that the emergency services personnel (police and emergency room personnel) would score higher than the non-emergency individuals. This hypothesis was not fully supported. Only emergency room personnel scored significantly higher than the control group of college students, but interestingly enough, all three groups averaged a higher belief than disbelief in the lunar hypothesis.
Some researchers report a relationship between the lunar cycle and the rate of homicides (Lieber & Sherin, 1972), the utilization of emergency mental health services (Blackman & Catalina, 1973), suicides (Jones & Jones, 1977), and the rate of emergency calls to local authorities (De Voge & Mikawa, 1977). Although relationships were found in these areas of human behavior, there exists contradictory evidence (Byrnes & Kelly, 1992; Garth & Lester, 1978; Gorvin & Roberts, 1994; Maldonado & Krauss, 1991; Martin, Kelly, & Saklofske, 1992; Wilson & Tobacyk, 1989). The overwhelming amount of studies done on the lunar hypothesis does not support a relationship between the moon and human behavior.
Many different ways have been tried to analyze human behavior using lunar phases. The four phases of the synodic cycle (new, first quarter, full, third quarter), full moon days versus all other days, tidal days (combined full and new moon days) versus nontidal days (first and third quarter combined), and perigee versus apogee (moon orbits closest to and farthest from earth). Of these different ways of using the moon to analyze behavior, the most popular speculation is called the "biological tide" (Lieber & Sherin, 1972). This states that the human organism is a microcosm comprising essentially the same elements and roughly in the same proportion as those on earth's surface: approximately 80% water and 20% organic and inorganic minerals. Therefore, the gravitational force exerted by the moon has a similar influence on the water mass of the human organism. So, as a tide is produced in large bodies of water, " biological tides" are produced in a human body. The gravitational force causes cyclic changes in water flow among the fluid compartments of the body, (intracellular, extracellular, intravascular, and intraluminal), and changes in total body water. Though this theory is interesting there is no proof of its validity.
Helping professionals in the fields of psychiatric services, criminal justice, and health care have been confronted at one time or another with the belief in lunar influence on human behavior. Wilson and Tobacyk (1989) proposed that individuals in emergency services construct an illusory correlation between lunar phases and behavior. Illusory correlation refers to the tendency of people who expect a relationship between two variables either to greatly overestimate the degree of relationship that exists or to impose a relationship when none exists. The illusory correlation between lunar phases and behavior is an attempt to understand, predict, and control events in order to reduce uncertainty and anxiety. In an attempt to measure the degree of belief in the lunar effect on behavior, Rotton and Kelly (1985) created a nine-item questionnaire entitled "Belief in Lunar Effect" (BILE). In their study, of the 154 undergraduates tested, 47% recorded greater belief than disbelief in the lunar effect. There are two aspects of the lunar hypothesis that become apparent: (1) the preponderance of studies done on the lunar hypothesis does not support the hypothesis, and (2) the belief in the lunar effect is alive and well.
In this study my purpose is twofold: (1) to test the lunar hypothesis by collecting the number of calls for police services and the number of admissions to an emergency room of a local hospital, over a 15-month period, and compare these numbers with the tidal days of the lunar cycle (new and full moon versus first and third quarter); (2) to test the belief in the lunar hypothesis by using the BILE questionnaire to survey city patrol officers, emergency room personnel, and undergraduate students. The hypothesis is that the emergency service employees average a higher test score than the undergraduates. Since I am examining two aspects of the lunar hypothesis, I will be referring to them as Test (1) and Test (2) respectively.
In Test (2) the subjects were from the same region of Missouri. There were three groups. Group (1) consisted of patrol officers of the St. Joseph Police Department. Their ages ranged from 23 to 52, with a mean age of 31. There were 13 males and one female. Education level ranged from two with high school level education, nine with some college, and three with college degrees. Group (2) consisted of emergency medical care workers of Heartland Hospital of St. Joseph Missouri. Their ages ranged from 20 to 60, with a mean age of 35. There were six males and eleven females, with education level ranging from seven with some college, eight with a college degree, and two with graduate degrees. Group (3) consisted of undergraduates in Psychology 101 at Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, Missouri. Their ages ranged from 18 to 40, with a mean age of 21. There were 20 males and 12 females in this group, with some college as education level.
Test (2) used the "Belief in Lunar Effect" questionnaire. The survey consisted of 13 questions, nine of which measured the degree of belief in the lunar effect, four of which asked for the general description of the subject. Test scores were then entered into SPSS for Windows for analysis. A copy of the questionnaire is included with this report and will be found in the appendix.
In Test (2) 93 questionnaires were given to the three groups previously mentioned: police, hospital emergency workers and undergraduate students. Thirty surveys were given to group (1); of these 14 surveys were returned. Group (2) received thirty surveys, with 17 returned. Thirty-three surveys were handed out to group (3), with 32 being used. A survey from one participant, who did not complete every item on the BILE scale, was discarded. The surveys were administered in a variety of ways. In the group of patrolmen, the questionnaires were given to the head of the patrol division. This person passed the survey out to the patrolmen and asked them to fill it out when they found time. For the emergency room employees, the questionnaire was taken to an R.N. at the admissions desk of the emergency room. This person passed the questionnaire to fellow employees, to be filled out at their convenience. In group (1) the surveys were picked up two days after they were left. In group (2) the surveys were dropped off in the morning and picked up that evening after shift change. Group (3) participants filled out the survey during a Psychology 101 class. All volunteers in group (3) received course credit for taking part in this study. Participation by all the subjects was voluntary.
For Test (2) a Between subjects analysis of variance was used, this produced F (2, 60) = 5.10, p < .01. A Tukey-HSD was used to determine which group was different from the other. A significant difference was exhibited between group (2) health care and group (3) college students. This shows that the health care employees have a significantly higher belief in the lunar effect than the undergraduate students. I also took the average scores of the test in each group and compared these scores to the cut-off score that determines high belief or low belief in the lunar effect. To obtain scores, respondents who chose high (6-9) were scored as three points, those who chose low (1-4) were scored as one point, and those choosing 5's were scored as two points and considered neither agreeing nor disagreeing. A total score of 18 or lower indicates a neutral to low belief in the lunar effect. Group (1) averaged 19.8571, Group (2) 22.8235, Group (3) 18.8438. We see that all three groups averaged above 18. So, even though there was only a significant difference between health care workers and undergraduates, all three groups scored above average in the belief of the lunar effect. This shows that belief in the lunar effect is still prevalent among the helping services as well as the general public that I surveyed.
Test (2) showed that all three groups averaged on the higher belief side of the lunar effect, with health care workers averaging the highest scores. This is not exactly what I thought would happen. My assumption was that the emergency services would score higher on the BILE questionnaire than the general psychology class. This part was true, but all three groups can be categorized as being on the belief side of the lunar effect rather than the disbelief side. This was an unexpected result. I assumed that my control group of undergraduates would have been categorized as disbelievers in the lunar effect. The results in this case do not support this assumption. As to the higher scores of the emergency services workers, these findings seem to support the notion that individuals in these professions tend to create an illusory correlation between lunar phases and behavior to reduce anxiety and provide experienced understanding, prediction, and control when dealing with crisis situations. Some of the limitations to test (2) could be in the way the survey was presented. In the original study the questions on belief in the lunar effect were interwoven with a test on belief of paranormal phenomena and tests on personality which measured social desirability, in order to hide the intention of the survey. Also, the administration of the survey to the city police and the health care employees was not under the same conditions as the undergraduates. This could have influenced survey scores and the amount of questionnaires returned for the study. My decision to simplify the survey scores by categorizing answers (1-4) as one point, (6-9) as three points, and 5's as two points might have influenced the resulting scores and the interpretation. In the original study the mean score of undergraduates was lower than the median score, which was not the case in this study. Further study in this area would be interesting to note, with the advancement of science and technology, and the approach of the 21st century, if the belief in the lunar hypothesis diminishes.
1. Lunar phases play an important role in human affairs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2. There is some truth to the idea that "crazies" come 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
out when the moon is full.
3. Some people behave strangely when the moon is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
full.
4. I have never felt that the moon affects my behavior.* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
5. It is a good idea to stay at home when the moon is full 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
6. My own behavior is affected by phases of the moon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
7. A full moon can trigger violence and aggression. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
8.There is absolutely no relationship between phases 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
of the moon and behavior.*
9. Only superstitious people believe that a full moon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
influences behavior.*
AGE:_____
GENDER: Male Female
EDUCATION LEVEL: High School/GED Some College
College Degree Graduate Degree
RACE: Afro-American Caucasian Asian Hispanic Other
* Item is reversed for total score