The Psychology of Manifestation

This research paper examines the psychological foundations of manifestation, a popular belief that individuals can attract desired outcomes through focused thought, visualization, and symbolic behaviors such as “acting as if” one’s goals have already been achieved. Across three studies involving 1,023 participants, the researchers developed and validated the Manifestation Scale, which measures two core dimensions of this belief system: Personal Power, the conviction that one’s thoughts can directly influence reality, and Cosmic Collaboration, the belief that a higher force or universal energy actively supports one’s intentions.

At its core, manifestation reflects the belief that thoughts and emotions transmit invisible signals that are received and returned as corresponding life experiences. Whether framed as the universe, God, or a higher self, this higher power is understood to respond to a person’s internal state. Within this framework, individuals are encouraged to align their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors with their desired outcomes through practices such as affirmations, visualization, and symbolic actions intended to embody success in advance.

Historical Roots of the Manifestation Movement

Manifestation beliefs draw from overlapping religious and cultural traditions dating back to the late nineteenth century. The New Thought movement promoted the idea that mental states could directly influence health and material conditions, aligning with early psychosomatic theories in medicine and psychiatry. These ideas later expanded into domains of wealth and achievement through self-help figures such as Napoleon Hill and Norman Vincent Peale. In parallel, Pentecostal Christianity developed the Prosperity Gospel, which framed faith and verbal affirmation as pathways to material reward. Manifestation entered mainstream popular culture with Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret in 2006, which reframed these traditions as a universal law of attraction. Today, manifestation circulates widely through self-help media, vision boards, coaching programs, and social platforms, blending spirituality with contemporary success culture.

What the Evidence Shows

Across the three studies, more than one third of participants endorsed manifestation beliefs, suggesting that this worldview is now culturally widespread. Individuals high in manifestation belief reported greater confidence, optimism, and perceived success, particularly regarding future goals related to wealth and status. However, these beliefs were not associated with higher income, education, or professional attainment, indicating a gap between subjective and objective success.

Manifestation belief was strongly linked to engagement with the modern success industry, non-religious spirituality, belief in karmic justice, and forms of magical thinking, while remaining only modestly related to hope or goal-directed motivation. It was also associated with intuitive decision-making, greater risk-taking, susceptibility to financial loss, and endorsement of unrealistic success narratives. Additionally, people who abided by manifestation beliefs were more likely to purchase cryptocurrency, be victims of fraud and file for bankruptcy.

Manifestation beliefs appear to boost confidence, optimism, and a positive self-view, even when objective indicators of success such as income or education do not differ from non-manifesters. People who endorse manifestation are especially confident about achieving their life goals, including ambitious or image-based goals related to wealth or recognition, and they tend to maintain hope despite large gaps between current circumstances and desired outcomes. This belief system may help sustain motivation and emotional resilience during goal pursuit, particularly for individuals facing structural barriers or uncertainty. At the same time, the research suggests that manifestation is better understood as a psychological resource for meaning-making and optimism rather than a reliable pathway to measurable success.

The authors conclude that while manifestation may enhance motivation and emotional resilience, it does not reliably improve real-world outcomes and may distort perceptions of control, risk, and responsibility by locating success or failure almost entirely within individual mindset rather than broader structural conditions.