You are an idealistic, dynamic person, with a realistic point of view and a curious personality. You have the ability to adapt and you end up solving most of the obstacles that life throws your way. However, sometimes you find it hard to trust people and you have to deal with certain insecurities. Identified with this description? If so, you are just being manipulated. And the explanation is the Barnum effect.
Horoscope predictions are just one of many examples that cause what is known as the Barnum effect. A phenomenon that occurs as a response to certain manipulation techniques focused on large crowds. It is about achieving that the general is perceived by people as the opposite, something personal with which they are able to feel fully identified.
The Barnum effect occurs when a description that is actually generic and ambiguous, and therefore easy to prove valid for many individuals, is perceived by a person as something exact that fits their identity. Because of this, this phenomenon is also known as the fallacy of personal validation.
The name comes from Phineas Taylor Barnum, a circus businessman who was an exemplary mass manipulator and who applied this technique. His figure, and the development of the concept of the Barnum effect, was studied by the psychologist Forer, so it is also common to refer to this idea as the Forer effect.
The influence of the Barnum effect makes many people get carried away by it when it comes to developing a perception about themselves and in decision-making. In fact, it is possible that a certain dependency will even be generated to this type of validation. However, why are people falling for this?
One of the main reasons is the intrinsically human need for everything to have an explanation. Finding certain patterns or certain signs that give meaning to everything that surrounds a person, from their personality traits, which can sometimes lead them to make mistakes, to their way of dealing with day-to-day life and certain events.
Another reason, very much in line with this, is the search for self-confirmation, which is nothing more than a confirmation bias. When a person believes in something, his natural tendency is to come up with reinforcements that help support that perception or belief. A way to accept that information as true and real and feel that it was right. In addition, this is usually linked to the fact that it is intended to be achieved quickly and easily, a pursuit for satisfaction that, on many occasions, is even contradictory.
