Cross-Cultural Differences in the Acceptance of Barnum Profiles Supposedly Derived From Western Versus Chinese Astrology

Abstract

The present study examines cross-cultural differences in the Barnum effect. At Stage 1 of the study, 287 respondents (comprising 149 Westerners and 138 Chinese nationals) provided birth details and completed a belief-in-astrology questionnaire. At Stage 2 a week later, 258 of these (130 Westerners, 128 Chinese) then completed a second belief-in-astrology questionnaire before receiving a Barnum profile supposedly derived from either Western or Chinese astrology, which they rated for, among other things, perceived accuracy (a) for themselves and (b) for other people in general. Preliminary analysis offered initial support for a universal Barnum effect. However, this disappeared after respondent gender, age, general education, and psychological knowledge were controlled for. Further analyses revealed little support for cross-cultural differences in either astrological beliefs or susceptibility to the Barnum effect, although surprisingly, Chinese nationals who believed in astrology did perceive their own (Barnum) profile to be more accurate for people in general than did Chinese skeptics. Finally, Barnum acceptance was not influenced by the apparent source of profiles. The role these factors play in relation to Barnum susceptibility and methodological limitations of the present study are discussed.

What Makes Some People Think Astrology Is Scientific?

“…This underlies the "Barnum effect." Named after the 19th-century showman Phileas T. Barnum, whose circus act provided "a little something for everyone," it refers to the idea that people will believe a statement about their personality that is vague or trivial if they think that it derives from some systematic procedure tailored especially for them (Dickson & Kelly, 1985;Furnham & Schofield, 1987;Rogers & Soule, 2009;Wyman & Vyse, 2008). For example, the more birth detail is used in an astrological prediction or horoscope, the more credulous people tend to be (Furnham, 1991).…”

Risky business: Precarious manhood and investment portfolio decisions.

“…A screen with an 8-s timed delay on advancing appeared, and stated that participant scores on the measures were being calculated. Participants then viewed a fake "Barnum" personality profile (Rogers & Soule, 2009) intended to bolster believability of the study. In a later manipulation check, most participants (80%) reported that they believed this personality feedback was moderately to completely accurate and most (88%) reported that they liked it.…”

Do threats to masculinity result in more aggressive driving behavior?

“…Participants first viewed an informed consent page, and then they completed a demographics page, as well as a fake personality inventory and the CMNI-46 (Parent & Moradi, 2009). Following completion of the two measures, a screen was displayed that stated that the participant's scores on the measures were being calculated, and advancing the survey was blocked for 8 s. Following this delay, participants viewed a fake "Barnum" personality profile (Rogers & Soule, 2009) intended to appear to be dynamically generated based on their responses to enhance the believability of the experimental manipulation.…”