Barnum Effect: What is common between the psychometric tests, personality tests and Horoscopes?

What is common between the psychometric tests, personality tests and Horoscopes?

Well, people’s interest, belief in them can be explained by Barnum Effect (also known as Forer Effect).

Barnum effect is the tendency to accept as true types of information such as character assessments or horoscopes, even when the information is so vague as to be worthless.

is a common psychological phenomenon whereby individuals give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored specifically to them, yet which are in fact vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people.

The Barnum effect is manifested in response to statements that are called “Barnum statements”, meaning that general characterizations attributed to an individual are perceived to be true for them, even though the statements are such generalizations that they could apply to almost anyone. Such techniques are used by fortune tellers, astrologers, and other practitioners to convince customers that they, the practitioners, are in fact endowed with a paranormal gift. The effect is a specific example of the so-called “acceptance phenomenon”, which describes the general tendency of humans “to accept almost any bogus personality feedback”. A related and more general phenomenon is that of subjective validation.

Individual effects:

The Barnum effect becomes dangerous when it interferes with our decision-making. Believing that general information applies directly to ourselves prevents us from being able to logically analyze our options and choose the best outcome possible. For example, what if you refused to date someone because their zodiac sign was “not compatible” with your own? Or what if you refused to leave the house because your horoscope foresaw tragedy in your impending future? If we trust these vague predictions too much, they can change the course of our lives by steering us clear of decisions we would otherwise make.

Systemic effects:

Within an organization, the Barnum effect may determine how willing employees are to accept or reject feedback. As explained below, we are more likely to believe that positive generalized statements apply to us. This means that when a manager applauds their team for their good work, employees may be inclined to proudly accept the compliment—even if their boss is not referring specifically to them. 

Conversely, we are resistant to negative generalized statements and often refuse to see them as applying to us. Due to this tendency, employees may find it difficult to incorporate criticism when a manager offers constructive feedback to their team, choosing to believe it applies to everyone else but not to themselves. 

With this in mind, higher-ups may want to prioritize providing individual feedback to each employee to guarantee they will accurately relate the feedback back to themselves, rather than amplifying their achievements or brushing off their shortcomings. 

The Barnum effect is named after the famous 19th-century entertainer P.T. Barnum, whose life story inspired the film The Greatest Showman. 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.

Myers–Briggs Type Indicator and Placebo effect are common examples we can relate with.

Another example of this effect is “Recommended for You” page or products.