What is superstitious conditioning?

Superstitious Conditioning is when the organism is rewarded (or removal of punishment) while performing a response, and even though the response and reward aren't related, the subject associates the two together.

Example: You hurt your thumb, and keep swearing until the pain goes away. The pain eventually goes away, and you assume it was because of your swearing, and consequently swear every time you're hurt to relieve pain. The swearing actually did absolutely nothing, but you 'superstitiously' associate the two.