One thing I found particularly interesting in Chapter 14 was the P.T. Barnum Affect. Astrology is a great example of the P.T. Barnum Effect, which is the tendency of people to accept high base descriptions. About a week ago, a friend of mine had tweeted how "freaky" it was that her horoscope always seemed to fit her perfectly. This was a golden opportunity to show off what I had been learning in psychology so when I was with her, I changed her Astrology sign from Aquarius to Pisces. A few days later I told her that she probably exaggerates how well her horoscope really fits her, so she proceeded to list off examples from the past few days of things that resembled her horoscope really quite well! Once I told her I changed it and she saw for herself that any horoscope can be applied to someone's day, she was not too happy with me for "ruining her horoscope". After thinking about horoscopes and this situation, I was wondering whether or not people spend their day subconsciously trying to fit the horoscope without even realizing it. For example, if a horoscope says that something unexpected will happen today if you take a chance, it would be interesting to see whether or not that person is more outgoing and open to new things after reading it.
I think that it was awesome how you did a little experiment on your friend about the horoscope. I know my friends and I read the daily horoscopes in the MN Daily before class. I do not necessarily believe that they are correct, but I do know a lot of people do believe in them. Horoscopes are usually broad and can be applied to anyone.
Great post! I also like nessx325, try to read the horoscopes in the MN Daily as often as I can. I always feel like they 'fit' me too. However, horoscopes are a form of entertainment in my case. After I finish reading it, I'll smile, maybe chuckle and then I don't give it a second thought. I do not try to fit "my reading/interpretation" into my day or wait and see if something will happen. My outlook of the day does not really change either.
That's great how you did an experiment on your friend to show her the error in her thinking. The concept of people subconsciously changing the things they do to fit their horoscopes is a really interesting idea. Like everyone else, I too will occasionally pick the MN Daily but I try my hardest (to no avail) NOT to read the horoscopes because after first semester I found that they usually were wrong for me. I just don't like the idea of a stupid paper telling you that "Today is a 6". Yet, I always have to peek. I definitely think that people who read magazine horoscopes that say things like "venus is aligns with earth around the 30th bringing an unexpected love connection into your life!" will being looking for those "love connections". Kind of like how we learned about coincidences in the beginning of the year.
I feel like other than through coincidence, horoscopes only appear true because of how they change the reader's mindset. For instance, if it's a day just like any other but in the morning the horoscope predicts a great day, they may be enshrouded in optimism and see the day through a different lens. If it promises a probable love connection, you might begin to notice more fine fellas or pretty ladies and feel more open to flirtation or even just a nice chat. Horoscopes are all up to the perception of the reader.
Yes, I definitely think our perspective can be changed through what we think our horoscope might say. Horoscopes can definitely be applied to any situation, which is why we often think they are true. This shows how just our thoughts on life can influence our day. On the topic of horoscopes, it also makes me think of how our signs are supposed to say something about our personality, but in truth it can't say much just based on the month we were born. Same goes for the supposed compatibility between one sign and another.
I spent a lot of time trying to wrap my head around the wonderful psychological question you posed in relation to Horoscopes. Do people let their horoscopes dictate their outlook on their day? Or do people subconsciously make decisions and take actions in their day in a way that matches up with their horoscopes? I personally am a believer in the second idea, which is also the one you seem to agree with as well. I definitely agree with you that people utilize this form of Astrology as an indication of how they will make decisions and what they will do in order to fulfill what the horoscope dictates. This leads me to wonder, why do people value horoscopes? What is it about these astrological signs that people find so much security and truth in? I would be curious to read more on this subject and why it has such an impact.
Very interesting blog post that I enjoyed reading about. This pseudoscience specifically I think is taken to far from just enjoying it. It needs to be taken at face value that it's suppose to be for fun. Not that it will determine whether or not your going to have a good day or that today you are feeling better and will look forward to the future. Do I completely disagree with horoscopes? No, I personally enjoy seeing whether or not I am going to have a 4 and having an off day or an 8 and expecting something exciting to happen. I believe that the people who take the horoscope to far are trying to make even the tiniest details correlate to their horoscope such as how your friend might have. Although you were doing it for science it was a little cruel to ruin horoscopes for your friend. Similar with palm readers and such. They want it to believe the science to be true but you have to take what your given at face value.
You brought up some really interesting questions in this post that I was wondering about as I read it. I think people do subconsciously alter their attitudes based on their horoscopes, which is incredible to think that we can do that without even realizing!
Even before I read this article I thought that horoscopes are such a stupid way to look at how your life should be lived and what you as a person are all about. It is just like fortune cookies and magic eight balls. They are way too vague and can be picked by anyone.
It is fascinating how be sometimes to "notice" patterns in our every day life. I experienced this when car shopping. After researching different midsize vehicles I was amazed to see how many different Nissan Rogues I saw driving around town. After about a day of point out every one I saw to my mom she interrupted me and said that those cars were always there it just took my subconscious to be drawn to this make and modle of car before I was able to consciously realize them. Funny how that works huh?
I feel like the reason why horoscopes seem to always fit your situation is because they are always so broad. You could literally read all of them and they would probably all fit you. As you proved with your little "experiment" why your friend, one of the horoscopes that wasn't hers "fit" her really well. If the horoscopes are really broad, you can't really go wrong.
This is awesome. Props to you for applying your knowledge to the real world. Similar to horoscopes, I feel like fortune cookies use the same meaningless broad statements, so that everyone will be impressed by their inexplicable abilities to tell the future. If I need someone to tell me I'm going to have a good day or future financial success, I'm certainly not going to ask a cookie (or an iPhone astrology app for that matter).