Law of Attraction: What Does Science Say About This Theory?

Have you ever wondered if your thoughts and intentions affect what happens to you? Or if you ask the “Universe” to help you with something if this works? You might have heard of the term the Law of Attraction. This philosophy would declare that you can ask for what you want from a more significant, universal intelligence and get it.

In this post, we’ll explore what the Law of Attraction philosophy says and how to implement it in your life, and then we’ll evaluate this worldview from a scientific perspective.

What is the Law of Attraction?

The Law of Attraction (or LoA) says that the more you think, manifest, and talk about something you want, the more likely you will get it. , It is based on the idea that like attracts like. It says that our thoughts and feelings, either positive or negative, have a magnetic pull and attract similar experiences.

This philosophy suggests that your circumstances—income, community, physical health, and relationships—reflect your internal world. The idea is that you possess a web of underlying beliefs and feelings, and they are of a certain “vibration.” And that vibration attracts circumstances and opportunities of a similar beat. 

To be clear, this philosophy still needs to be supported by the scientific community. But we’ll get into that later in the article.

What is manifesting?

When people use the word “manifest,” they intentionally adjust their inner thoughts and feelings to attract a particular circumstance or thing into their lives. 

For example, let’s say you want a job at your dream company. And so you envision yourself at that job, living out that life. You notice what beliefs that version of you who has that job would hold and how they would feel. And then, you work to ingrain and embody those beliefs and feelings. Once you fully calibrate your vibration to the reality where you have that job, the job (or something like it) will naturally come to you.

How to Use the Law of Attraction as a Tool for Personal Development

Here are a few Law of Attraction tools below. According to the philosophy, these tools work best when practiced together, when you are not attached to the outcome, and when used consistently over time.

Gratitude practice

Gratitude in the Law of Attraction context involves expressing appreciation for what you currently have in your life. Over time, this practice can help cultivate a more positive and abundant mindset.

Action Step: Go through the following steps. Try it out once. However, if you want to practice the Law of Attraction, it’d probably be advisable to practice each of these steps for a more extended time.

1. Write down one thing you’re grateful for about your life circumstances
2. Write down one thing about your body that you are thankful for
3. Write down one relationship you are grateful for
4. Think of 1 challenging event or hardship in your life, and see if you can find one thing about it that you are grateful for
5. Go through each item in your list, and take a few seconds to feel the gratitude.
6. Then, take a moment to feel grateful simply for being alive.

If you’d like to explore the idea of a gratitude journal more, you might enjoy this post.

Create a vision board.

The following Law of Attraction step is to get clear on what you want and visualize it.

Vision boards are one classic tool for this step. They can be physical or digital displays of images and words that represent the outcomes you desire. 

Creating a vision board can help you clarify your goals, and regularly viewing the board can help reinforce your desires and intentions.

Action Step: Create a vision board! Either on Pinterest or on a physical whiteboard. 

1. Get in the right mindset. See if you can come to this activity from a place of optimism and confidence. 
2. Make a list of all of your goals—anything you want to accomplish in the next year. Be specific!
3. For a digital board, gather images online that speak to your desire somehow. And for a physical board, find pictures on Google or in magazines. Pick images that inspire you, not images you feel like you “should” put. 
4. You can also write out words and phrases on your board.

It doesn’t have to look pretty. It just has to mean something to you!

Here’s a guide for more instruction on building a vision board.

Positive affirmations

Positive affirmations are concise statements you repeat to yourself, intended to foster a positive mindset and influence your subconscious mind. 

Ideally, a positive affirmation will reprogram your limiting belief about yourself into a belief that empowers you.

Action Step: Think of the three things you want most for yourself, whether feelings, circumstances, or opportunities.

Then, turn each of those things into a present tense statement.

For example, if you want a partner, you might write: “I have a beautiful and healthy relationship with a loving partner.”

Or, if you want to feel more abundant, you might write: “I feel abundant, generous, and like I always have energy to give.”

Once you write down your three statements, try reading each one slowly and thoroughly, feeling each statement as you read it. 

Like the gratitude practice, according to the Law of Attraction philosophy, the more often you take on this practice, the more effective it will be.

If you’d like inspiration on coming up with affirmations, here’s a helpful list.

Chunk your goals

While the Law of Attraction places a significant emphasis on mental and emotional alignment, pairing these with material efforts is equally important.

This means that while you’re visualizing and affirming your desired outcomes, you should also set clear goals, plan, and take tangible steps toward those outcomes. 

For instance, if you’re seeking a new job, alongside visualizing success, ensure you’re also updating your resume, applying to relevant positions, and preparing for potential interviews.

Action Step: For one of the goals on your vision board, break that goal down into smaller chunks that you could accomplish. Then, make an action plan for the first chunk and execute it!

For example, if your goal is to build an email list of 1,000 subscribers, the first chunk might be creating an email list of 10 subscribers. Your action plan is to reach out to your family and social media friends to invite them to your newsletter. Then take action on that idea!

If you’d like support choosing the best goals for yourself, you’ll love this free guide:

Fundamental Principles of the Law of Attraction

In addition to gratitude, visioning, affirmations, and goal-chunking, let’s dive deeper into some underlying principles.

Thoughts are things

This principle suggests that our thoughts are more than just mental activity. They are considered energetic entities that vibrate at specific frequencies, capable of attracting similar frequencies. 

In simple terms, positive thoughts attract positive experiences, and negative thoughts attract negative experiences. The idea is that “like attracts like.” So, your life circumstances will match and reflect the quality of your thoughts.

Emotional alignment

Thoughts alone are not enough. The Law of Attraction also suggests that feeling the emotions of your desired reality is important.

For example, let’s say you want a new circle of friends. The Law of Attraction might recommend that you imagine sitting around a campfire, sharing vulnerably with friends. And then you imagine what that feels like. 

Do you feel peace? Connection? Gratitude? Joy?

Then, you link those feelings with the thoughts and images you are trying to manifest.

Take action

While the Law of Attraction emphasizes mental and emotional processes, it doesn’t neglect the role of action. This principle states that you must also take relevant, guided actions toward your desires.

The aligned thoughts and feelings create the vibrational alignment of what you want, and your actions pull it towards you.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

This principle implies that making space in your life—both physically and emotionally—creates a void that the universe will seek to fill, ideally with the new experiences and circumstances you desire.

So, if you let go of a job, friend, or opportunity that isn’t a “vibrational match,” you are creating space for a better match to come to you.

The present is perfect (abundance mindset)

The Law of Attraction encourages an appreciation for the present moment and promotes an abundance mindset. It emphasizes the belief that there are ample resources and opportunities for everyone and that you are always cared for and have more than enough. 

The idea is that needy energy pushes things away. For example, if you are broke and clingy towards a potential romantic partner, they will avoid you. Similarly, according to this philosophy, they will prevent you if you are needy towards your life desires.

The best way to become non-clingy is to become content, grateful, and at peace with your life as it is now, in this exact moment. If you don’t need anything now, you can want things without needing them, and that mentality will more likely attract those things into your life.

Work through limiting beliefs.

As the term suggests, limiting beliefs are deeply ingrained beliefs or perceptions about ourselves and the world around us that limit our potential.

These might include beliefs like “I’m not good enough,” “I don’t deserve success,” or “I can’t achieve my dreams.” 

We each create about 50,000 thoughts daily^{1https://magazine.wharton.upenn.edu/digital/the-impact-of-limiting-beliefs/}, with 90% of those thoughts repeating daily. Beliefs are machines in our minds that pump out ideas. So, if you have a limiting belief, one of your thought machines is pumping thoughts like “You’re not good enough!” into your consciousness daily.

The Law of Attraction also sees beliefs as an opportunity filter. We can only see specific opportunities through our beliefs, and the Universe can only give us whatever opportunities fit through our beliefs.

If you believe you’ll never get the job you want, you might overlook the opportunity to offer yourself as an intern to your family friend who works in your desired industry. The Law of Attraction would take this thinking one step further and even say that this family friend might offer you an internship if you believed you could have it, but not otherwise. 

Consciousness is non-local

Non-local consciousness^{2https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-04669-001} is the idea that consciousness isn’t confined to an individual’s brain or body but is part of a larger, interconnected field or universe. 

The Law of Attraction suggests that thoughts and intentions can influence one’s experiences and reach out into the universe to attract corresponding opportunities.

According to this framework, it means that to achieve a goal, you don’t have to lug the mass of your body to a place to interact with another physical mass. Instead, you can put your attention and awareness on the energy of something you want and draw it to you. 

The Law of Attraction in Action (with Real-Life Examples)

To better understand the concept, here are a few examples:

Example 1: Upgrading a job situation

Suppose Sally, an ambitious professional, is set on a managerial position at her firm. 

She isn’t just wishing for it passively. Instead, she constantly visualizes herself in that role, making decisions, leading a team, and achieving her targets. This positive thinking shapes her attitude and work ethic. 

Consequently, she’s more proactive, takes on more responsibilities, and displays leadership skills, which eventually get noticed and may lead her to that managerial position she’s been dreaming of.

Example 2: Attracting a partner

Here’s another example from my own life. 

Back in 2018, I was dating and looking for a partner. On August 29th of that year, I wrote in my journal a list of 16 qualities I wanted to manifest in a romantic partner. 

I wrote the list in a flash of inspiration, but I forgot about it a few weeks later. I continued to date, learning much about myself and my preferences from each new relationship.

And then, about ten months later, I started to connect with a new friend, and the connection had a lot of potential. So we kept going deeper and deeper. Until, next thing you know, we’ve been in partnership for over four years.

As I’m writing this, I looked back at that list for the first time in years and can confirm that my partner fits all 16 desires I wrote down to a tee!

This could be categorized as the use of the Law of Attraction—I clarified a vision of what I wanted, continued to take action, felt non-clingy towards the vision, and eventually, it manifested itself in my life. Proponents of the Law of Attraction would say I embodied the vibration of my desires and attracted them into my life.

Now, it’s important to note that nothing supernatural or mystical happened. You could say I got clear on what I wanted and filtered out possible partners who didn’t fit my criteria. 

Example 3: Celebrity experiences

Here’s a YouTube montage of several celebrities discussing their relationship with the Law of Attraction. Of course, this doesn’t confirm or deny if the Law of Attraction works or how it works, but it’s fascinating!

Is The Law of Attraction Based in Science?

It is important to note that the Law of Attraction is contentious, with views ranging from ardent followers to eyebrow-raising skeptics. 

Many people are cynical about the Law of Attraction because it is based on beliefs about the world that differ from most scientists’ beliefs.

The scientific community tends to view the world from a position called “scientific materialism^{3https://academic.oup.com/book/3378/chapter-abstract/144476233?redirectedFrom=fulltext}.”

Scientific materialism is based on several core ideas. Let’s look at these ideas and see how they fit the Law of Attraction.

Material reality

This materialist view states that everything that exists, from galaxies to insects, can be reduced to interactions of matter and energy. 

The concept says that the brain is a complex matter-machine that produces consciousness, thoughts, and emotions.

Does this clash with the Law of Attraction?

Yes. The Law of Attraction states that thoughts can influence physical reality. Materialists would deny that thoughts are anything but brain output.

Observability

Observability means that to understand the nature of the universe, we should be able to observe and measure it. Anything that can’t be observed, measured, or quantified is often considered non-scientific.

Does this clash with the Law of Attraction?

Kind of. Measuring or quantifying how many “units” of positive thinking one must exert to attract a new car is difficult.

Causality 

This materialist view operates on the principle of cause and effect. It assumes that every event in the universe results from a prior event or a series of events.

Does this clash with the Law of Attraction?

No. The Law of Attraction framework also works through cause-and-effect thinking. It gives a different explanation as to why your actions might lead to specific results (e.g., your thoughts cause the circumstances to change), but it does still abide by cause-and-effect thinking.

Predictability and reproducibility 

According to this view, if an experiment is conducted under the same conditions, it should yield the same results. This predictability is essential for the scientific method.

Does this clash with the Law of Attraction?

Kind of. Claims that positive feelings attract positive outcomes are not easily measurable or observable by current scientific methods. That said, some studies^{4https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4760272/} suggest that positive thinking reduces worry and anxiety.

Objectivity 

Science strives to maintain an objective perspective, removing personal biases or emotions as much as possible.

Does this clash with the Law of Attraction?

No. Again, it could be possible to objectively measure claims of the Law of Attraction, but it’s typically not studied in science.

Science and The Law of Attraction

As we mentioned, scientific materialism and the Law of Attraction are two different worldviews and lenses for viewing life. Many of the techniques the Law of Attraction suggests have positive benefits regardless of your viewpoint.

Thus, we can use a scientific paradigm to explain why the Law of Attraction principles often work. This isn’t to suggest which way of viewing this is correct—it’s more to provide an alternative explanation for why visualizing often creates positive results.

Let’s go through a few psychological principles and see how each supports aspects of LoA practices.

Selective Attention

Selective attention refers to our brain’s ability to focus on specific stimuli while filtering out others, effectively homing in on what’s most relevant to our current interests or goals.

As neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart says in this interview, our brain constantly filters our external reality, but we can choose to be selective in what it filters to benefit our goals.

In the Law of Attraction context, when we visualize a goal or set an intention, our selective attention kicks into gear. We’re more likely to spot related opportunities or information. For instance, if you’ve been visualizing buying a new car, you may suddenly notice that model everywhere.

While the Law of Attraction claims this is due to your thoughts attracting your desires, psychology would suggest that it’s more about your attention filtering for relevant information. 

Confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is a psychological phenomenon where we naturally gravitate towards information that aligns with our existing beliefs and ignore or downplay information that contradicts them. 

It’s as if we’re wearing a pair of selective spectacles, viewing the world in a way that confirms our preconceived notions.

In this interview, Andrew Huberman cites a study that suggests that “when you believe something, there are chemical systems in your mind associated with repeating that belief.” In other words, when we affirm our beliefs, our brain releases dopamine, and we feel good.

The idea here is that we see what we believe, further reinforcing what we believe making us see more of it.

If you strongly believe in the Law of Attraction, you’re likely to interpret positive events as proof that your positive thoughts attracted these outcomes. Conversely, you might dismiss or rationalize away instances where the Law of Attraction didn’t seem to work, preserving your belief in its effectiveness.

While this isn’t necessarily bad—positive expectations can undoubtedly contribute to a healthier mindset—it’s essential to be aware of this bias.

For example, if you are looking for signs from the Universe, you will see characters where there are none.

That said, materialists must also beware of confirmation bias. Because if you assume that our imagination fabricates signs, then if the Universe giving signals is a real thing, you would not see them.

Placebo effect

The placebo effect is a psychological phenomenon where a person experiences an improvement in their condition or symptoms due to their belief in the effectiveness of a treatment, even if that treatment is inactive or doesn’t have any therapeutic properties.

The placebo effect is widely accepted^{5https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5953755/} in the scientific community. This is why placebos are used in many clinical trials testing new drugs. 

It’s also a principle used by mentalists like Derren Brown in his series Fear and Faith, where he creates elaborate placebo situations where he gets people to believe they are taking a high-tech drug to cure their greatest fear. Then, sure enough, they can overcome that fear by eating a sugar pill.

Now, let’s connect the dots to the Law of Attraction. The LoA hinges on the belief that our thoughts can influence our reality. If we truly believe that positive reviews will lead to positive outcomes, this belief itself could potentially create a placebo effect. In other words, our strong belief in the effectiveness of the Law of Attraction might generate a heightened sense of optimism, expectancy, and proactive behavior, which could contribute to improved outcomes in our lives.

For example, suppose I firmly believe that I will soon become wealthy. In that case, I may begin to placebo myself into feeling more confident and motivated, which will help me become wealthy.

Learned optimism

Learned optimism is a concept in positive psychology pioneered by psychologist Martin Seligman. It proposes that optimism, rather than being a fixed trait, can be cultivated over time by changing one’s thought patterns and developing more positive perspectives. 

Seligman found through research that when we view the world optimistically, we tend to become physically healthier, live longer, develop more fulfilling relationships, and achieve our goals more effectively.

Learned optimism shares a significant common ground with the Law of Attraction, particularly in their mutual emphasis on the power of positive thinking—both advocate for replacing negative thoughts with positive ones to improve one’s life circumstances.

Seligman even offers an activity where you visualize your future self who has created the life you want for yourself, which is also a LoA practice. However, Seligman doesn’t propose any mystical benefit to this activity, more that it creates a sense of confidence and possibility that you can make a life you want for yourself.

In the Law of Attraction context, affirmations, visualization, and gratitude could be seen as exercises in learned optimism. By consciously focusing on positive thoughts and emotions, individuals are training their brains to be more optimistic, aligning with Seligman’s concept.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

A self-fulfilling prophecy^{6https://www.jstor.org/stable/4609267}, a term coined by sociologist Robert Merton, is a phenomenon where a belief or expectation influences individuals’ behavior in such a way that it causes the belief or expectation to come true. Our predictions inadvertently lead us to act in ways that bring about the anticipated outcome.

For instance, if a student continuously tells themselves they’re going to fail an upcoming test, they might become so anxious or demotivated that they don’t study effectively or at all. As a result, they perform poorly on the test, reinforcing their initial belief of failure. Thus, their negative belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Self-fulfilling prophecy plays a pivotal role when related to the Law of Attraction. If you believe and anticipate positive outcomes (as the Law of Attraction encourages), you will likely behave in ways that promote these outcomes. For instance, if you constantly visualize and affirm success in a job interview, you might enter the interview with more confidence and perform better, thereby making the ‘prophecy’ of success come true.

While the Law of Attraction attributes these outcomes to your thoughts “attracting” reality, psychology might explain this as a self-fulfilling prophecy at work. But regardless of how you spin it, a positive mindset will help you get the desired results.

The science of visualization

Visualization is a technique where you create a mental picture of a desired outcome or goal. 

From a scientific perspective, research has shown that the brain doesn’t significantly differentiate between a vivid mental experience and an actual physical experience. This is why athletes often use visualization as a part of their training – imagining the perfect shot, race, or routine can enhance their actual performance.

Neuroscientist Matthew Walker says in this interview that visualizing a motor skill’s performance is about 50% effective in changing the plastic connections within the brain as physically performing that act. If you are a martial artist, for example, you could visualize yourself performing a sequence repeatedly, which helps.

The Law of Attraction advocates for vividly imagining the desired outcome to attract that reality. So, if you’re seeking a promotion, you’d spend time regularly visualizing yourself in that higher position, performing the tasks, reaping the benefits, and feeling the satisfaction of that role.

While the Law of Attraction asserts that this process “attracts” your desired reality, science might argue that the benefits of visualization are more about priming your brain and body for the desired outcome; you’re rehearsing success, bolstering your confidence, and potentially improving your performance in the process.

There Are Always Two Explanations

When considering if the Law of Attraction clashes with the scientific perspective, it can be helpful to see the Law of Attraction as an entirely different lens from the materialist lens.

One way to think about it is that the scientific materialist lens is like a pair of glasses we put on to understand and comprehend the world. 

Materialism and the Law of Attraction as Lenses

We know that cultures across time have used different lenses to understand reality—and many cultures have the folly of assuming that their lens is the RIGHT. It’s easy for us to assume that our mainstream lens is the RIGHT lens. But very likely, 100 years from now, our way of seeing the world will have significantly evolved. We’ll look back at our lens from 2023, perhaps in the same way that we now look back on people who thought the Earth was the center of the solar system.

The materialist lens is a very powerful lens with great predictive ability. But it can also have some drawbacks, especially regarding meaning and spirituality. As a response to fill this void, there is a rise in the personal growth movement offering different lenses to view the world mythologically or spiritually.

To call materialism a lens doesn’t undermine its validity; it just inserts some humility into the picture. The universe is infinitely large. Literally, infinite. Infinity is something that our minds can’t comprehend. We have five senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing) through which we attempt to comprehend this infinite thing we’re a part of. Imagining that any of us could understand the universe in its entirety seems like a tall order. Different lenses and perspectives offer sight to other pieces of the infinite puzzle. Each lens may offer some value.

Using this metaphor, the Law of Attraction is a different lens for viewing reality. It sheds light on other parts of reality than the materialist lens. But it also might view certain things inaccurately as well.

Each lens unveils some part of the picture.

It’s like the ancient Buddhist parable of the blind men and the elephant. In the parable, a group of blind men are all touching an elephant, but they don’t know what they’re feeling. 

The man touching the elephant’s leg is certain he’s touching a tree trunk. The one touching the tusk is certain he’s touching a spear. The man touching the tail is sure he’s grabbing a rope. And so forth.

The men argue over what this object is because each is so sure of his experience.

Of course, all the men are correct in their limited perception, but none are right about the elephant. They could only understand that the thing is an elephant if they each bring humility and incorporate others’ perspectives.

It may be possible to view the Law of Attraction and materialism this way. Each touches an aspect of the thing, but neither can encapsulate it.

What it’s like to view the same event from different lenses

In this way, any time an event happens, you can always explain it with a materialist or Law of Attraction lens.

Let’s say I want a German Shepherd, so I meditate on it every day for weeks. I imagine myself in the reality where I own a beautiful German Shepherd. And then, one day, I noticed on my walk home that someone was selling a litter of German Shepherds. Yippy! My wish came true.

You could interpret this event through the LoA lens and say that clearly because I visualized and imagined my desired reality, I manifested that German Sheaphard to come into my life.

But you could just as easily interpret the event through a materialist lens. And say that my visualizing didn’t do much except put the dog on my mind. This made me much more likely to notice and pay attention to anything dog-related. That I saw a litter of German Shepherds was either dumb luck that I’m attributing a cause to, or I was more likely to notice it because of my efforts.

You choose how you view things.

I’m certainly not here to solve this debate once and for all and tell you how the world works! But consider that there may be some merit to taking on the Law of Attraction perspective, and there might also be merit in remaining skeptical and viewing things more from a materialist perspective.

Acknowledging the Limitations of the Law of Attraction

While the Law of Attraction can be effective, there are several common criticisms of the Law of Attraction.

It’s only one piece of the puzzle.

One critique many have of the Law of Attraction is that it’s one piece but often claims to be the entire puzzle.

Many successful people cite visualization and manifestation as part of their process.

But it seems clear that creating success also requires:

• Persistence and resilience
• Consistency
• An empowering support group and network
• Mentorship
• Continuous growth
• Self-confidence
• Effective strategy
• Good ideas

While many practices of the Law of Attraction help many people, it’s important not to discount other success factors.

The Law of Attraction often discounts taking action

Many proponents of the Law of Attract, especially in the famous documentary The Secret, put a lot of weight on visualization and thinking the right things. But as a result, they might undervalue the necessity of work and action as it relates to achieving goals.

The Law of Attraction isn’t a magic wand that can manifest desires without effort. While it emphasizes positive thinking and visualization, these must be accompanied by practical actions. 

There aren’t many famous counter-examples

While many of us have seen videos of Jim Cary and Will Smith endorsing manifestation, it’s rare to see montages and compilations of celebrities and average folks talking about how they tried and failed at using the Law of Attraction. 

This lack of balance can create an overly optimistic view of the Law of Attraction’s effectiveness.

Risk of victim blaming

If, for example, someone suffers abuse or happens to live in a war zone, the Law of Attraction would suggest that this person’s negative vibration attracted these events.

This can lead to a situation that blames the person who experiences the hardship and turns a blind eye to the perpetrator’s role.

Overemphasis on positivity

Many critique the Law of Attraction for only focusing on positivity and neglecting other parts of the human experience. 

While maintaining a positive mindset can be beneficial, it’s equally important to acknowledge and process negative emotions. Overemphasis on positivity can lead to toxic positivity and suppression of negative feelings, which can be counterproductive in the long run.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Law of Attraction

Takeaways About the Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction has become quite famous in different personal growth circles, and it offers many benefits. But it’s also worthwhile to bring critical thinking into how you relate to its metaphysical claims.

If you would like to put some of the LoA practices into action to help with your own goals, you could try the following:

• Start a gratitude practice. You state and feel gratitude for different parts of your life, especially the hardships.
• Create a vision board where you combine images and words to symbolize the life you want for yourself a year from now.
• Try positive affirmations where you create present-tense statements that embody how you want to feel and what you want your life to be like.
• Chunk your goals by breaking them into smaller steps and working at them one step at a time.

If you want to achieve your goals, you might find the SMART goals helpful framework. You can find an excellent guide about that right here.