The bartender's eye reading effect. Why do people believe in astrology? Can the Barnum effect be used for good purposes?

“I began to tell fortunes by hand in my youth in order to improve my well-being with the help of these mysterious manipulations. When I first started, I didn't believe in palmistry. But I knew that I could only succeed if I acted as if I believed in what I was doing. After several years, I became a firm believer in palmistry. Once upon a time the late Stanley Jacks, professional psychologist, for whom I had great respect, tactfully invited me to conduct interesting experiment. I had to make predictions that were completely contrary to the arrangement of the lines on the hand. I took the risk of doing this with several clients. To my amazement and horror, my prophecies were successful, as always. From that time on I became interested in those powerful forces, that they convince us - both fortune tellers and clients - of something that in fact cannot be.”

This impressive confession by Ray Hyman, now a professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, is quoted by David Myers in his famous textbook social psychology. He gives this example to illustrate how a person, even initially skeptical, is able to become imbued with a certain conviction if long time behaves in accordance with it. Moreover, one point is important here, which Myers does not even pay attention to, namely: the emergence and strengthening of conviction is greatly facilitated by the constant confirmation of the correctness of your doctrine. It is unlikely that Ray Hyman would have been able to overcome his skepticism if his predictions had not been confirmed over and over again. In fact, the exact opposite took place - clients testified with satisfaction that the predictions were reliable. And the situation did not change at all when, for the sake of an experiment, the “expert” began to prophesy complete nonsense that contradicted his doctrine (this is assuming that what he said earlier was not nonsense). Why is this happening?

This is where the so-called Barnum effect comes into play - a socio-psychological phenomenon named after something popular in the 19th century. American farcical entrepreneur Phineas Taylor Barnum, who allegedly said: “Every minute a simpleton is born on Earth, and I have something to offer to any of them.”

The Barnum effect can be formulated as follows: a person tends to take general, vague, banal statements personally if he is told that they were obtained as a result of studying some factors that are mysterious to him. Apparently, this is due to the deep interest that each of us has in our own personality and in our destiny.

The Barnum effect has been studied by psychologists for more than half a century. During this time, they were able to determine under what conditions a person believes the statements offered to him, which people are inclined to believe and which are not, and which statements are most credible.

So, in the late 50s. conducted a classic study American psychologist Ross Stagner. He gave 68 personnel officers from various companies a psychological questionnaire to fill out, which allows them to draw up a detailed psychological description personality, and then composed one general false characteristic using 13 phrases from popular horoscopes. Stagner then asked subjects to read these characteristics, telling them that they were developed based on data from a psychological test. Each participant in the experiment had to note after each phrase how true, in his opinion, it was and how truly it reflected his character. Gradations of assessments were proposed as follows: strikingly true, fairly true, “middle and half,” rather erroneous and completely false. More than a third of the subjects considered that their psychological portraits were sketched astonishingly correctly, 40% considered them to be quite accurate, and almost no one considered their characterization completely wrong. But these were heads of personnel departments, that is, people seemingly experienced in assessing personal qualities!

This experiment revealed another interesting aspect of the Barnum effect. Here are the two phrases that the participants considered most true: “You prefer some variety in life, a certain degree changes and become bored if you are constrained by various restrictions and strict rules” and “Although you have some personal shortcomings, you usually know how to cope with them.” The first of these was considered “strikingly true” by 91% of participants, and the second by 89%. On the contrary, the following two statements were considered least true: “In your sex life does not come without some problems” and “Your hopes can sometimes be quite unrealistic.” In general, the Barnum effect works on positive statements, and this is not surprising: we are all not particularly pleased to learn something negative about ourselves.

Similar studies have been repeated more than once in various versions. Australian psychology professor Robert Trevethen regularly has first-year students write down their dreams or describe what they see in bizarre ink blots (the Rorschach test). Then, having allegedly processed the material brought to him, the professor under big secret gives each student the same 13-phrase “personality assessment” that Stagner used and asks for feedback on its validity. Only after each student has declared in front of the entire audience that they are completely satisfied with the correctness of the analysis, does Treveten allow them to look into each other’s papers. He thinks it's great practical work for an introduction to psychology.

In one experiment designed to test the extent to which one could believe in the “Barnum formula,” Richard Petty and Timothy Brock gave subjects a fictitious personality test and then gave them fictitious test results. Thus, half of the subjects received in their address positive statement, which describes them as having an "open mind" (that is, being able to accept different positions on the same issue), while the other half is also a positive statement, but describing them as being a "closed mind" (that is, those , which, having accepted own solution, firmly stand their ground). Although the reported results were purely fictitious and distributed completely randomly, almost all subjects felt that they had received a very accurate description of their own personality. And even more! Petty and Brock found that the subjects' "newfound personality" influenced their subsequent behavior. Specifically, this was as follows. Both "open" and "closed" subjects were asked to state their opinions on problems, each of which suggested the possibility of two various positions. Those subjects who used the method random sample given a statement describing them as "open-minded" people, they expressed their opinions in favor of both positions on each of the issues raised, while the "closed-minded" subjects were more likely to express arguments in favor of one of the positions. This is a compelling example of how our beliefs and expectations can create social reality.

An important role in the emergence of the Barnum effect - and Eliot Aronson points out this in his works - is played by the fact that the information presented is personalized as much as possible. Due to the inherent egocentric thinking of most of us, we do not even realize that what is said to me personally about me, my beloved, can actually apply to almost any person.

Barnum effect

Barnum effect (Forer effect, subjective confirmation effect) is a general observation that people rate extremely highly the accuracy of descriptions of their personality that they assume are tailored to them individually, but which are actually vague and general enough to apply just as well to many people. to other people. Many scientists partially explain the phenomenon of the widespread popularity of astrological horoscopes, palmistry, socionics, homeopathy and other pseudosciences with the Barnum effect.

The effect is named after the famous American showman Phineas Barnum, who was known for his psychological manipulation and is credited with the phrase "We have something for everyone." Presumably, this name was given to the effect by psychologist Paul Meehl.

Forer's experiment

This effect is also called Forer effect, named after psychologist Bertram R. Forer, who in 1948 conducted psychological experiment, in which he showed the effect of this effect. He gave his students special test, in order to analyze their personalities based on its results. However, instead of a real individual description, he gave everyone the same vague text taken from the horoscope. He then asked each student to five-point scale assess the correspondence of the description of their personality to reality, - average rating was 4.26. The assessment of the accuracy of students’ descriptions was also influenced by the authority of the teacher. Subsequently, the experiment was repeated hundreds of times.

The description that Forer gave to the students

“You really need other people to love and admire you. You are quite self-critical. You have many hidden opportunities that you have never used to your advantage. Although you have some personal weaknesses, you are generally able to overcome them. Disciplined and confident on the surface, in reality you tend to worry and feel insecure. At times you have serious doubts about whether you have accepted the right decision or whether they did the right thing. You prefer some variety; boundaries and restrictions make you dissatisfied. You also pride yourself on being an independent thinker; you do not take other people's statements on faith without sufficient evidence. You have realized that being too open with other people is not very wise. Sometimes you are extroverted, friendly and sociable, sometimes you are introverted, cautious and reserved. Some of your aspirations are quite unrealistic. One of your main goals in life is stability.” ( , )

Barnum's formulations

Descriptions like the one quoted above are often called Barnum statements(Barnum's formulations), and they are part of the standard repertoire of scammers in the field of astrology, palmistry, parapsychology, etc.

Factors influencing the effect

The subject is convinced that the description applies only to him.
The vagueness of the characteristic makes it applicable to almost any person, and this leads the subject to think about its validity.
The subject is convinced of the authority of the person who formulated the description.
The description mainly contains positive characteristics.

Literature

Forer, B. R. (1949). The fallacy of personal validation: A classroom demonstration of gullibility. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 44, 118-123.
Dickson, D. H. and Kelly, I. W. (1985). The "Barnum Effect" in Personality Assessment: A Review of the Literature. Psychological Reports, 57, 367-382.

Links

Horoscope. Psychology of quackery // What you know and what you don’t know about yourself and others / Comp. S.S. Stepanov. - M.: Family and school, 1994.
“Astrology and logic. Audit" - an article on the Elements.ru website contains a description of several similar experiences.
Forer effect
Siberian Skeptical Paranormality Observer

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what the “Barnum Effect” is in other dictionaries:

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The Barnum effect is that it is common for a person to take banal, vague, general statements personally, especially if he is confident in the mysterious nature of their origin.

People perceive generalized descriptions of their personality in quite specific ways. And when they read astrological forecasts, then they are inclined to trust what is written and are convinced that the listed characteristics exactly suit them. In fact, these statements are vague, general and therefore suitable for absolutely everyone.

Barnum effect in psychology

American psychologist Ross Stagner became interested in this phenomenon. His experiment was based on an ordinary horoscope. The scientist was going to test the Barnum effect by selecting thirteen phrases that are most often found in popular predictions. From these, Stagner compiled tests to determine the psychological portrait of a personality. Next, Ross distributed questionnaires to 68 personnel workers and asked them to fill them out. The result was stunning: a third of the participants reported amazing accuracy in the description. Forty percent thought it was correct, and almost no one said it was “completely wrong.”

Origin of the term

The effect described above was named after Phineas Barnum, a popular fraudulent circus performer from America. He was unscrupulous and known for his penchant for deceit. The term was proposed by the eminent psychologist Paul Meehl. He is one of the creators of the legendary MMPI test.

In scientific circles, there is another name with a double surname - the Barnum-Forer effect. And in honor of whom the postscript appeared, we will tell below.

Barnum effect: text

The thing is that in 1948 Bertram Forer conducted an experiment. The professor suggested that people go through a certain psychological test. After collecting the completed questionnaires, the scientist announced a break while processing the results. Forer didn't actually check anything. After the break, Bertram gave the experiment participants descriptions of their personalities obtained from the test results. Everywhere there was the same text, taken from an astrological magazine. Here's what he looked like: “You have a strong need for respect and love from others. You are critical of yourself. You have a lot of unrealized potential that you are not using to your advantage. Your personality has weaknesses, but you will more than compensate for them. You have difficulty maintaining a regular sex life. Despite your outward display of self-control and self-control, you sometimes experience feelings of insecurity and inner restlessness. Sometimes you have doubts about the correctness decision taken. You are attracted to variety and certain changes, and when others try to impose restrictions or constrain you, you experience dissatisfaction. You do not trust other people's statements that are not based on solid evidence. It is unacceptable for you to open your soul to strangers. At times you can be sociable, friendly, and sociable, but in some situations you may find yourself withdrawn, distrustful, and self-absorbed. Some of your claims seem unrealistic. One of your main goals in life is safety."

After participants read the descriptive text, Forer asked them to rate the degree to which it was similar to their personality. A rating of “5” meant the highest possible similarity. The average score was 4.26. Consequently, the participants in the experiment considered the proposed characteristic to be very reliable.

Please note: the above text describing behavior and personality will suit almost anyone. This is the Barnum effect. Examples of such experiments are provided by the fraudster and the circus performer, after whom this phenomenon was named. Barnum's favorite quote: "We have something for everyone."

Other experiments

After testing Forer, similar studies were carried out many times: in different variations and by different scientists. It is often used to demonstrate the Barnum effect and in general to show during trainings the degree of a person’s gullibility, as well as the imperfection of his perceptual and social processes. Interesting fact: in the film “Red Lights” the director reproduced Forer’s experiment. Only instead of personality test A natal horoscope was compiled for the study participants.

Credibility criteria

Subsequently, it became obvious that there are a number of conditions under which a person will almost always determine the description of his personality as correct and reliable. Let's list them:

Description characterizes human personality in a positive way. This case is considered an independent phenomenon, which is called the “Polyanna principle.” In accordance with it, a person always accepts the positive characteristics of his personality as true.
The description includes traits that are common to most people.
The characteristics were obtained in ways, techniques, methods that, in the opinion of the test taker, make it possible to obtain reliable data about his personality. In other words, they come from a source that is authoritative for the person being tested.
The description contains vague, abstract, general language.

Oral manifestations

The Barnum effect can occur not only in situations where a person independently reads a particular characteristic. It can also manifest itself in the case of an oral presentation of a personality description. For example, a person goes to a socionicist, astrologer, psychic or some similar “specialist”. This subject carefully observes the newcomer, asks tricky questions, notes something on his notepad, and then describes the client's identity in detail. The “specialist” makes surprisingly correct conclusions, gives correct assessments, and even penetrates into those parts of the “self” that the person did not even suspect about before this meeting.

Specifics of the phenomenon

Interestingly, the Barnum effect works exclusively on positive statements.

Australian professor Robert Treven asks new students every year to record their own dreams or interpret the famous "Rorschach blots." Then, under great secrecy, he gives each of them the same “ psychological analysis personality”, which consisted of 13 phrases (this description was also used by Stagner).

Next, each student sitting in the audience speaks and gives an assessment of the characteristics they read. Usually there is not a single student who considers it wrong. Treven then allows the students to look at each other's papers. Robert thinks similar experiment An excellent start to studying psychology courses.

It is noteworthy that the strength of the Forer effect is not affected by the prestige of the psychologist or astrologer. And gullibility in equally is common to both women and men.

R. Snyder studied satisfaction with the horoscope he compiled (the content was the same for everyone). People whose astrologer asked the time, day, month and year of birth before writing the forecast were more satisfied. Snyder also found that subjects considered very reliable those personality analysis results in which positive judgments outnumbered negative ones five times. If the characteristic contained twice as many negative judgments, then the test takers did not consider it accurate.

Typically, people who are less happy, anxious, upset, or anxious tend to perceive descriptions more accurately. They are looking for an opportunity to receive some support and want to get rid of uncertainty and depressing experiences.

Modern demonstration

Nowadays, experiments demonstrating the Barnum effect are also regularly carried out. Derren Brown from the UK spoke about it most clearly and intelligibly. He works as a hypnotist, mentalist, illusionist and magician. The Englishman filmed an entire program on the topic discussed in this article called “The Barnum Effect from Derren Brown.”

In a transfer to several groups of subjects (each of five people), he suggested doing the following: circle your hand on a piece of paper, write your date of birth and place it in an envelope. Derren also asked to put some personal item with the sheet. After this, the magician collected the envelopes and left for an hour to make individual forecasts. Upon returning, Brown handed out leaflets to people and asked them to read them in privacy. All subjects were surprised by the accuracy of the description of their personality. Naturally, the text was the same for everyone. At the end of the program, the test takers found this out by exchanging sheets of paper.

Applications

Below we list several pseudoscientific areas and situations where a person’s acceptance of a personality characteristic is based on the Barnum effect:

Socionics (tests, description of the type of information metabolism).
Psycheyoga (practised by a number of socionics adherents).
Description of personality in NLP based on “metaprograms” and “ representational systems».
Physiognomy (description of a person’s character based on facial features).
Fortune telling with cards (Tarot and others).
Description of a person by an illiterate psychologist, a layman.
Determining character by eye color.
Astrology (description of personality according to natal horoscope or zodiac sign).
Character determination by blood group.
“Cold reading” (used by psychics to describe a person).
Chinese calendar, in which character is determined by year of birth.
Describing personality using false tests (entertainment, magazine and many others).
Palmistry (information about character can be obtained through analysis of palm lines).
Vedic description of personality (predominant guna, etc.).
Determining character by name (works of B. Higir).
Vulgarized (popular) personality typologies created on the basis of character accentuations.

Naturally, this is far from full list pseudoscientific areas and situations in which the Barnum effect occurs. It is also worth noting that it extends not only to the description of a person.

Conclusion

So, the Barnum effect, examples of which were presented in this article, is a special case of a cognitive distortion known as subjective validation. In addition, he corresponds with “hypochondria of a medical student.” At this phenomenon A university student begins to notice signs of the disease he is studying. The Barnum effect is also similar to egocentric thinking. For example, when it manifests itself, a person who enters public transport and hears the passengers laughing, thinks that they are making fun of him.

The Barnum effect is a method of psychological manipulation (influencing a person) using generalized phrases and characteristics. In 1830, the skilled manipulator Phineas Taylor Barnum worked in the circus, after whom this method of controlling a person is named. Another name is the Forer effect, in honor of Bertram Forer. He for a long time studied the Barnum effect and conducted experiments.

Fine Line

As you know, people are very fond of mysticism, magic and predictions. For weak people This the only way gain hope that everything will be fine. Predictions give them strength and confidence in the future. This is what charlatans play on, deceiving their victims with various fortune telling. Probably, we should not deny that there may be something mystical and mysterious in the world, but all those horoscopes that we see every day on the Internet or read in magazines create, rather, the Barnum effect than are truly true. This also applies to most tests that can be found in printed publications and on various websites. The materials compiled by experienced psychologists and doctors of science are in most cases far from the truth.

How manipulation works

There is nothing complicated or incomprehensible about the Barnum effect; in fact, everything is extremely clear. At one time, Forer, who works at the institute, conducted tests on students. He tested his students (usual simple questions), and then gave each one a supposedly individual result, although in fact all the students received the same characteristics. Afterwards, he asked to give a rating (maximum 5 points), which would show how true the testing turned out to be. Students gave an average score of 4, meaning they agreed with the description of their personalities. This experiment clearly demonstrates how the Barnum effect works in psychology. An example of this testing proves that Forer was able to convince students that he really compiled a separate result for each.

Characteristics text for students

The testimonial text went something like this: “You need other people to love you. You always correctly assess your capabilities, and use some of them inappropriately. full force. Even though you have certain weaknesses, you are able to mitigate them and still achieve results. Although you appear overly confident and disciplined, at heart you are very vulnerable and anxious. Quite often we tend to doubt the correctness of the decision, but what’s done is done. You are very proud that you make all your decisions independently and are not influenced by outside influences.” This text fit the personality description of 80% of the students, and they, of course, gave a high mark.

What do people believe?

First of all, let's note: people only trust a person who seems authoritative to them. That is, the students trusted Forer and, accordingly, believed in the test results and the characteristics that he allegedly compiled. In addition, the teacher assured the students that each description was individually written. This technique always bribes people and makes them believe in the veracity of the information. The Barnum effect, examples of which are found in everyday life quite often, you can track it by reading the horoscope. Characteristics based on blood type and eye color seem more ridiculous, but despite this, there are a huge number of people who agree with them and believe in them.

It’s one thing when a person sees a horoscope or a characteristic in a newspaper: he seems to believe what is written, but partly doubts it. In any case, it does not harm him. Here's another example: your friend tells you that he has studied the secrets of astrology and is now ready to create a personal horoscope just for you. If you are not a complete skeptic, then you will agree, at least for the sake of curiosity, and, having seen in the text standard phrases, which were found in the materials of Forer’s experiment, you will most likely believe in its correctness. How could it be otherwise? After all, the horoscope was compiled by an authoritative person and just for you. And here’s another side of the coin: you need to pay money for a personal horoscope - this is where the scam lies.

Only positive

A very interesting factor influencing the Barnum effect is positive affirmation. That is, the phrases that sound in horoscopes and predictions are usually positive. They are the easiest to believe. The human brain is designed in such a way that it is not always ready to accept self-criticism and not from everyone. If you tell someone about something negative trait character (which is actually present in a given individual), then most likely he will deny it. Another thing is positive characteristics that are flattering to everyone who hears them.

Barnum effect: application

It would seem this effect is used quite widely, but this is not true, or rather, not entirely true. The Forer-Barnum effect is extremely popular among charlatans precisely because people know little about it. In what areas of life can you meet him? This is astrology, characteristics by name, blood type, magical services, numerology, fortune telling with cards, runes, coffee grounds, etc. However, this does not mean that all magicians are charlatans, and all horoscopes are lies. In each such field there are both masters of their craft and simply those who earn income from it.

What bad can happen

Of course, in the horoscope that you read every day email, there is absolutely nothing dangerous. It gives you certain hopes, helps you dream, and this is very inspiring. But there are also paid services in the fields of astrology and magic. Some fortune tellers charge money, but say only stock phrases, and a personal horoscope can be drawn up based on the Barnum effect and still cost a lot of money. The same applies, for example, to palmistry. A person can look at the fancy lines of your hand for a long time, say that you are talented, successful, but have not yet realized all your dreams, and at the same time take a certain amount of money from you. The Barnum effect in psychology is explained by the fact that people are very good at what they pay money for. Many people think like this: “If information costs money, then it is certainly true.”

Is it possible to protect yourself from deception?

Of course it is possible, and exists huge amount ways. The first and most effective is to become a skeptic. Why rely on the forecast of strangers if you can decide your own destiny? Many skeptics are convinced that only a person is responsible for what happens to him or will happen in the near future. They do not look for excuses in the full moon or a weak zodiac sign, because they know for sure that if they made a mistake, then it is only their fault and shortcoming.

However, not everyone is born a skeptic. There are a lot of romantics and dreamers in the world. People live and believe that miracles surround them. It seems to them that, knowing their future, they will be able to prevent mistakes. They dream of finding out everything about themselves and their loved ones and preventing everything bad events. Superstition adds color and new sensations to people's lives. Well, it's their choice. But in order for the dreamer not to fall for the bait of charlatans, you need to know a few very important things.

How to Avoid the Trap

You must definitely pay attention to the person who is advising you or making predictions for you: how he is dressed, what his manner of communication is. As a rule, charlatans talk a lot and quickly. They are in a hurry and very impulsive.
Never provide any information about yourself. The bare minimum is the name and date of birth; the astrologer must say everything else himself. If he does not name any specific events in your life, but beats around the bush, limiting himself to hackneyed, template phrases, rest assured: you have ended up with a scammer.
A good astrologer or magician must first tell you what you already know: your marital status, number of children, area of work, existing problems that are bothering you. If he provides all the information only general phrases or is playing around, then most likely he is deceiving you. For example, an astrologer asks: “Are you married?” You answer in the negative, and he says: “I see that this is about to happen” (even though you don’t really have a fiancé), you know, this is hardly a prediction, rather the Barnum effect. After all, any unmarried woman I would like to have a family.
Try to apply the prediction to another person. If what you heard can be easily said to anyone else, you are definitely being fooled.
A good technique in the Barnum effect are phrases such as “You will succeed”, “If you persist or put in the effort, you will get what you want.” All these phrases are general and suitable for almost any person.

The good side of the coin

Despite the fact that the Barnum effect is most often used with bad intentions, it can also be used for good purposes. It's about about a situation when you need to support a person in difficult moment. The Barnum effect, the content of which lies in generalized phrases, can very well raise the self-esteem of any person.

For example, your friend is upset about problems at work: her boss scolds her, she can’t fit into the team. Try to support her, for example, you can say: “Come on, I’ll look at your horoscope or tell your fortune, or ask a fortune teller I know.” Next, write a testimonial for your friend with approximately the following text: “This week you are full of strength and energy, all the efforts that you make at work will certainly give good result. You are very talented and smart person, but are not using your full potential. By opening yourself completely, you will be able to realize the most wild dreams..." and read her horoscope.

Such psychological manipulation will help a person to believe in himself again and reveal his abilities to the fullest. You can compare the Barnum effect with They work almost the same way: generalized phrases that suit any person are the same empty pill that can work wonders. In any case, if this method is used as an aid, there is nothing wrong with it. As the great commanders said: “Forewarned is forearmed,” so the Barnum effect does not work with people who know about it. It is difficult to deceive a person who has sufficient knowledge about this method manipulation.

The Forer effect is named after the psychologist who studied this effect experimentally. This effect is also called the Barnum effect - in honor of the famous American circus performer. We will talk about what Phineas Barnum had to do with this effect a little later, but now let’s get acquainted with historical experiment Forera.

So, in 1948, Bertram R. Forer conducted the following experiment.

A group of people were asked to take a psychological test. People passed this test. The experimenter collected the completed tests and released the people for processing. In fact, no processing was done. After time had passed (supposedly spent processing the tests), Forer distributed to all participants in the experiment the same personality description, obtained, according to the experimenter, from the test results (in fact, the text was taken from an astrological magazine). Here is the text:

you are experiencing strong need in love and respect from other people. You tend to be critical of yourself. You have great unrealized potential that you have not used to your advantage. Although you have some personality weaknesses, you generally compensate for them successfully. You have difficulty having regular sex life. While you demonstrate outward composure and self-control, you tend to experience inner anxiety and insecurity. Sometimes you are tormented by doubts about whether the decision you made was the right one or whether you did everything that was necessary. You are attracted to certain changes and variety, and you feel dissatisfied when they try to constrain or impose restrictions on you. You value your independence of thought and do not accept other people's statements if they do not have sufficient quantity hard evidence. You consider it unwise to reveal your soul too deeply to other people. At times you can be sociable, friendly, and sociable, while in other situations you may find yourself self-absorbed, distrustful, and withdrawn. Some of your claims seem quite unrealistic. Safety is one of your main goals in life.

Forer then asked each participant to rate on a five-point scale the degree to which the descriptive text was similar to their personality (“5” being the most similar). The average score was 4.26.

As we can see, the participants in the experiment believed that the description correctly described their personalities.

Please note: the above text consists of descriptions of personality, behavior that would fit to everyone to a person. Perhaps it is for this reason that this effect is called not only the Forer effect, but also the Barnum effect, because it is known that the circus performer and swindler Barnum liked to repeat: “we”ve got something for everyone.” ).

Forer's experiment has been carried out many times since it was first conducted: by different researchers and in different variations. This experiment is often used to demonstrate the Forer effect and, in general, a person’s gullibility, the imperfections of his social-perceptual processes, in particular, during trainings (at mine, for example). Interesting fact: Forer's experiment, used as a demonstration, was reproduced in the film "Red Lights", in this film, instead of a personality test, a natal horoscope was compiled for the participants in the experiment.

Later it became clear that a person will almost always consider a description of his personality to be reliable and correct, regardless of the truth of this description, if:

This description was obtained by a method, technique, method that, in the opinion of the subject, allows one to obtain reliable data about his personality, i.e. comes from a source authoritative for the person.

This description contains general, abstract, vague language.

This description generally characterizes a person’s personality positively.

The Forer effect is based on a person’s acceptance of a description of his personality in the following pseudoscientific areas and situations:

Astrology (character description by zodiac sign or natal horoscope)

Chinese calendar (character description by year of birth)

Palmistry (character description based on palm lines)

Physiognomy (character description based on facial features)

Determining character by name (books by B. Khigir)

Determining character by eye color

Determining character by blood type

Vedic descriptions of personality (e.g. based on predominant guna)

(description of the type of information metabolism, socionic tests)

Psycheyoga (the pseudoscientific brainchild of A. Afanasyev (by the way, a 4th-class prop master!), loved by some adepts of socionics)

Popular (vulgarized) personality typologies based on character accentuations (books by A. Egides (by the way, the teacher of N. Kozlov, the founder of the Sinton sect), who honors his student)

Fortune telling with cards (including Tarot cards)

Description of personality based on false tests (magazine, entertainment, or, for example, the mandala test by J. Kellogg)

Description of a personality by a non-professional, illiterate psychologist

Personality description by psychics (so-called “cold reading”)

Description of personality based on so-called “representative systems” and “metaprograms” in

Of course, this is not a complete list, and the Forer effect extends not only to personality descriptions...

In conclusion, I would like to note that the Forer effect is a special case of such a cognitive bias as subjective validation. In addition, the Forer effect corresponds to a phenomenon called “hypochondriasis of medical students,” in which a medical student begins to see in himself obvious signs a disease that is at the moment studies. Also, the Forer effect is somewhat reminiscent of egocentric thinking, when activated, a person, for example, entering a transport and hearing the laughter of passengers at that moment, thinks that they are laughing at him.