![]() ![]() The experiment was a success at proving the Barnum effect since the average student rating was 4.26. The feedback included general phrases such as, “You have a great need for people to like and admire you,” or, “You have a tendency to be critical of yourself.” After receiving the initial feedback, the students evaluated its quality, giving it a score ranging from zero (not accurate at all) to five (incredibly accurate). Secretly, the professor instead gave the students the same general, unspecific feedback, regardless of their personality test results. He informed the class that each survey would be analyzed and then returned to the students with personalized feedback on their scores. He conducted what is thought to be the first experiment testing the cognitive effect in 1948, during which he provided his students with personality surveys. ![]() Forer, explaining why the bias is also commonly referred to as the Forer effect. ![]() Later on, the Barnum effect was first officially investigated by American psychologist Professor Bertram R. 7 Meehl saw this as negligent practice, and advocated for individuation of diagnoses instead. He adopted this term after expressing his frustration towards other psychologists who were persistently making general statements about their patients. The name “Barnum effect” was first coined in 1956 by American clinical psychologist Paul Meehl. Barnum famously said that “a sucker is born every minute.” His statement refers to how people’s gullible nature prompts them to believe what they are told about themselves, explicitly referring to the elaborate hoaxes in the circus industry that Barnum dominated. Barnum, whose life story inspired the film The Greatest Showman. The Barnum effect is named after the famous 19th-century entertainer P.T. After all, who would want to believe that negative comments refer directly to themselves when it is so much easier to dismiss them? 5 Subconsciously, individuals are biased to eagerly accept praise-and in turn, swiftly reject criticism. We can better describe this phenomenon with the Pollyanna Principle, also commonly referred to as the positivity bias, which occurs when an individual assumes better accuracy of descriptive statements when they are positive. After all, people like to be complimented, and will more likely accept positive feedback about themselves as accurate, even if it is general and vague. 4 So if our horoscope points out any personality flaws about our zodiac sign, we might brush it off as being nonsense. On the other hand, this means that we are typically more skeptical of critical statements, and are less likely to think they pertain to us. For example, we are more likely to think our horoscope is accurate if it contains positive information. Interestingly enough, the Barnum effect seems to happen most often with positive statements. 3 Like subjective validation, the Barnum effect results from taking a vague statement and finding meaning specific to ourselves by connecting completely separate entities. Subjective validation is when we consider information to be correct if it has personal significance because we subconsciously identify a relationship between two unrelated events. 2 It’s rooted in another cognitive bias known as subjective validation (sometimes referred to as the validation effect). Let’s look closely at Mercury retrograde and what it means to you.The Barnum effect is a very common phenomenon resulting from our natural tendency to attach personal meaning to general statements. Keeping track of Mercury retrograde periods can allow you to increase your productivity and avoid at least some of the frustration they can bring about. ![]()
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