Spiritual Evidence Map
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Secondary summarysecondarycontextVerified

Law of attraction (New Thought)

Wikipedia contributors · 2024 · Wikipedia

Spiritual Evidence Map/Last updated May 10, 2026/Claims v1.0.0-provisional/Sources v1.0.0/Scores provisional
Citation dossier

This source is used as context evidence across 1 linked claim and 3 related evidence hubs. Its citation record is marked verified; that verifies the source trail, not the truth of any linked claim.

Source type
Secondary summary
Map role
context
Claim links
1
Direct access
Recorded

Summary

History of the Law of Attraction from 19th-century New Thought through 'The Secret' (2006), with the standard scientific critique.

How this source is used on the map

Direct background for the 'manifestation' claim; covers both the practice and the criticisms.

Citation record

Authors
Wikipedia contributors
Year
2024
Publication
Wikipedia
Source type
Secondary summary
Map role
context
Credibility level
secondary
Citation status
Verified
DOI
Not recorded
PubMed
Not recorded
PDF
Not recorded
Original source →

Linked claims

Evidence score 2/10
Manifestation works

Confidence and goal clarity have small real effects on action and outcomes. The cosmic claim is unsupported.

Related evidence hubs

Topic hub
Energy, Healing & Divination

Practice claims — prayer, reiki, chakras, astrology, tarot, manifestation.

Evidence pillar
Energy healing & subtle body

Reiki, chakras, auras, crystals, prayer healing.

Evidence pillar
Life purpose & meaning

Growth, suffering, synchronicity, calling.

Related research reports

Synthesis report
Evidence Against Common Spiritual Claims

A careful guide to spiritual claims that are popular but weakly supported, including astrology, reiki, auras, crystals, manifestation, numerology, and predictive tarot.

Related sources

Study · challenges
Pleasure now, pain later: Positive fantasies about the future predict symptoms of depression

Useful counterweight to manifestation claims: visualization can affect motivation, but fantasy by itself can reduce effort rather than magically produce outcomes.

Review · supports
Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation

Supports the limited psychological version of manifestation: goals and expectancy can change behavior, not reality itself.