Barnum effect means that people are willing to accept those over-generalizations and commonalities.

Definition editing

Barnum effect, also known as Fowler effect and astrology effect, is a psychological phenomenon proved by psychologist bertram Fowler in 1948. People often think that a general description of personality reveals their own characteristics very accurately. When people describe a person with some common, vague and broad adjectives, people tend to accept these descriptions easily and think that they are talking about themselves. As a well-known technician named Shoman barnum said when evaluating his performance, he is very popular because the program contains ingredients that everyone likes, so he makes "people get cheated every minute". In 1950s, psychologist paul muller named Fowler after Phineas Taylor Barnum, a famous American circus artist. The experimental result was Barnum Effect. Barnum effect explains why many people think fortune tellers are "accurate" after consulting them, because people who ask fortune tellers have the characteristics of being easy to be hinted, but in fact, fortune tellers say almost the same things to everyone, which are general generalizations and descriptions.

Experimental editor

Psychologist Bertram Forer conducted a personality test on the students of 1948, and analyzed the results according to the test. After the test, the students scored a minimum of 0 points and a maximum of 5 points on the fit between the test results and their own characteristics. In fact, all students get the same "personal analysis" [1]:

"You pray to be loved by others, but you find fault with yourself. Although there are some defects in personality, on the whole, you can make up for them. You have considerable untapped potential, but you haven't developed your advantages yet. The seemingly tough, strict and self-disciplined appearance hides inner anxiety and uneasiness. Many times, you will seriously question whether you have done the right thing and made the right decision. You like a certain degree of change, but you feel dissatisfied when you are limited. You are proud of being an independent thinker and will not accept statements without sufficient evidence. But you think it is unwise to be too frank with others. Sometimes you are outgoing, friendly and full of sociality, and sometimes you are introverted, cautious and silent. Some of your ambitions are unrealistic. " [ 1]

The average score was 4.26, which was revealed only after the score. Fowler collected these contents from the description of the relationship between constellation and personality. It can be seen from the description of the analysis report that many statements are applicable to anyone, and these statements were later named barnum statements with barnum [1].

In another study of Barnum Effect Test, students used Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Questionnaire (MMPI), and then the researchers evaluated the report. The researchers first write down the correct evaluation of students' personality, but give them two evaluations, one is correct and the other is wrong, that is, use some vague and general evaluations. After that, the students were asked which evaluation report they thought was the best for them. More than half of the students (59%) chose the fake evaluation report instead of the real one. [ 1]

Reason editing

In psychology, the cause of Barnum effect is considered to be the role of subjective verification. Subjective verification can affect us, mainly because we want to trust our hearts. If we want to believe something, we can always collect evidence to support ourselves. Even if it doesn't matter, we can still find a logic and make it conform to our own ideas. In our hearts, "self" occupies most of the space, and everything about "me" is very important. Our license plate number, ringtone, computer desktop and bedroom wallpaper will be carefully designed to reflect our unique personality [1].

There is also the so-called "flattery effect". Most people prefer to believe things that make them look more positive and positive. So they will agree that they still have a lot of untapped potential, and they like to think independently [1].

In addition, Barnum effect also reflects a trend of high self-identity for general and inaccurate descriptions. With the help of statistical concepts, it is similar to "the first kind of mistakes", that is, the mistakes that violate the rules. As the deviation in the whole process of comparative cognition, the academic circles have discussed the reasons for the deviation in many aspects [2].

Applied editing

Fortune tellers in traditional astrology and astrology often use Barnum effect to defend themselves and lure more people to come to him for fortune telling. Generally speaking, people who ask fortune tellers for help are ill-fated and depressed. Repeated setbacks in life make them feel insecure, and their dependence on fate is easy to accept the hints of fortune tellers. Fortune-tellers are good at using the "generality and generality of character description" in Barnum effect to ponder each other's inner feelings and tell some ambiguous past judgments and future predictions. Words are more general and abstract, which are common in life. Because fortune tellers often regard fortune tellers as prophets and messengers of God, fortune tellers will feel "accurate" when they "break through the past and point to their own wishes". So Barnum effect is also called astrological effect [3].

Smart companies are good at using Barnum effect to make a fuss about advertisements. Some enterprises have good products and money to advertise, but in today's increasingly fierce advertising war, they may not be able to advertise well, because many advertising words are used repeatedly, and the public often has hearing fatigue. The advertising effect of Huiyuan Juice is very good, which has played a boosting role in its marketing. Its advertising slogan is "if you don't add it, you won't add it", the popular and colloquial words are concise, the female voice is lively and playful, and the "don't add it" is repeatedly emphasized, which makes the audience have suspense to continue listening. What do you want to add? Pigment, preservative and sugar were not added originally, which promoted the audience's desire to buy. Pigment, preservative and sugar can't be eliminated in other kinds of juice drinks, but the content is a problem, which has potential chemical side effects on human body. Although sugar is not a chemical substance, it is a direct killer of diabetes. Huiyuan can completely avoid adding these three additives, which will attract many customers to have a taste. How does it taste? Compared with most fruit juice drinks containing a lot of "essence+sugar water", it is only for customers to savor and judge whether they can obviously drink a different taste. As far as the advertising words of Huiyuan Juice are concerned, it captures the general psychology of customers and is easy to produce Barnum effect and promotion, which is beyond doubt [3].

If enterprises use inappropriate words in advertisements, it may trigger another "barnum negative effect" among the people. It is also because "a generalization and general description of personality" accurately describes the "certain characteristics" of the group, but because the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, it will have negative effects and will have adverse effects on the public. In 2003, two stone lions crouched on the side of the road on the advertisement page of Toyota's overbearing car in Japan. One of them stood up and extended his right paw to salute the overbearing car. The advertisement is "arrogance, you must respect it". Faced with such an advertising image, some domestic readers stand up and speak out, thinking that this is an insult to China's national dignity, because the stone lion is a totem-level patron saint and symbolizes national dignity. Subsequently, Jiefang Daily reported the incident with the title of "Japanese Toyota's overbearing advertisement insulted national dignity", which was reprinted by many media and websites, touching the sensitive national sentiment of Chinese people and denouncing Japanese Toyota in succession. This incident quickly alerted Toyota headquarters, and several senior officials immediately held a media forum and issued an apology to China. Toshio Kotani, general manager of Toyota Motor China sales, apologized to Japanese consumers through the news media, saying, "Although we didn't have any malice before the advertisement, our improper expression caused unpleasant and bad feelings among Japanese consumers, and we are very sorry for this. The company first stopped publishing this advertisement after the incident and issued an apology letter in some media ... We hope to gain the understanding and trust of consumers in the shortest time. " Although the creativity of the advertisement was designed by China people, the advertiser was Toyota, and Kotani Nanjun and the top management of Toyota unanimously "expressed sincere apologies", which quickly won the understanding of China consumers and resolved the crisis [3].

Barnum effect not only has a certain use value in advertising, but also has a high value in attracting and developing customers if it can grasp the general psychological needs of the public in the production and operation of enterprises [3].

Coping method editor

Barnum effect is ubiquitous in college students' personality test and decision-making, which deeply affects their behavior decision-making and can't maximize the effectiveness of decision-making. Therefore, it is of great significance and value to study the coping strategies of Barnum effect. If we consider it in turn, we can effectively deal with Barnum effect and avoid its adverse effects [4].

Considering opposites refers to the method of considering the opposites of beliefs, assumptions, opinions, results, etc. When searching and processing information. It can not only make college students think more comprehensively, but also help them to be more cautious in judgment and decision-making. If researchers divide subjects into three groups and read descriptions related to their personalities. After reading it, the 1 group was asked to list examples that match the description; In the second group, the subjects cited examples that were inconsistent with the personality statement; In the third group, the subjects listed consistent and inconsistent examples of personality statements, and then asked the subjects to evaluate the degree to which the description was in line with their own situation. The results showed that 1 group was significantly higher than the other two groups, the third group was significantly higher than the second group, and the second group showed a lower Barnum effect.