magical thinking /maj″ikəl/ , (in psychology) a belief that merely thinking about an event in the external world can cause it to occur. Children ages 4 to 6 sometimes engage in magical thinking. When it occurs later in life, it is regarded as a form of regression to an early phase of development. It may be part of ideas of reference, considered normal in those instances, or may reach delusional proportions when the individual maintains a firm conviction about the belief, despite evidence to the contrary. It may be seen in schizophrenia.
