Barnum Effect Is Named After

Barnum Effect is named after a circus showman, P.T. Barnum, who believed that to "have a little something for everybody" is an indispensable ingredient to success (Snyder & Shenkel, 1975, as cited in faxed material). As a term used in Psychology, Barnum effect refers to one's tendency to accept very vague or general statements to be accurate characterizations of oneself. It is the underlying principle in astrology, horoscope, palm reading, tarot reading, crystal ball gazing, graphology (handwriting analysis), and some psychometric tests.

Many psychologists are alarmed, knowing that people are susceptible to Barnum Effect and that stimuli are ubiquitous. If people regard graphology and other forms of "general" assessments as non-insightful but entertaining, then concern would be limited. Yet many people even seek out such as "guidance" -- believing the claims, influencing their actions, and thus affecting the way they live. Also, psychometric tests loaded with "general" assessments are problematic since they are inaccurate, but growing in number, and still believed to be legitimate by others.

Psychologists are supposed to assist their clients in gaining personal insight. But if the tool they use is inaccurate, then no substantial information can be expected. To what good use is a tool if it does not serve its purpose? Yet, these tools are mushrooming. In spite of their low validity and reliability, more and more are produced each year -- not gaining favor of the experts; nonetheless, have not lost its appeal among many. Take, for example, pop psychology.

This is a non-standardized tool, which means no established norms can be used to logically compare individual scores with. Validity and reliability is highly questionable; yet, pop psychology thrives and finds its way to several magazines. Results could be graver if assessments laden with Barnum Effect were intended to be the basis of other serious matters, such as hiring. Graphology, which relies on Barnum effect, was once utilized by companies in assessing the applicants' personality, and thus as basis of hiring.

The fates of the applicants rested not on their competency alone, but also on the unscientific analysis of their handwriting which claims to unravel who they truly are. Still, the primary reason why psychologists are alarmed of Barnum Effect is that it can affect the way people perceive themselves. Instead of gaining better understanding, people could get a false and/or a skewed opinion of themselves.

There are several ways on how to stay away from Barnum effect: (1) beware of all-purpose descriptions that could apply to anyone; (2) beware of selective perceptions; and (3) resist flattery. Beware of all-purpose descriptions that could apply to anyone. When presented with a description of the self, listen or read it carefully. Mull it over. Be skeptical, but not cynical. Think of the extent to which and among whom could it apply. If possible, check the rationality of the method which was used to arrive at the description.

Pausing will hamper the momentum that built up from learning the description to actually believing it, giving chance to think things over before finally giving the verdict - accurate or not. One personality profile gives "a person who likes change" as one of its assessments. Scrutinizing the statement, one will see that this is likely to apply to almost everyone. First, it does not specify in what aspect in life the person likes change, making it open to personal interpretations.

Second, possibility is huge that people are likely to favor change in at least one of the aspects of their lives, given that people are dynamic by nature. Check the tool's background and be not surprised if it is not rooted on solid research ground -- validity or reliability is low, sample used was not representative of the population and standardization was not strictly applied, among others. Beware of selective perceptions.

People fall for the trap of seeing vague descriptions as accurate because of the tendency to bring it down to the personal level. However, recall of personally-relevant information is subject to the selective memory (Wittrock & Foraker, 2001). For example, hearing "at times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable," a student remembers last week at a friend's house when she was the life of the party. She also remembers that she initiated the conversation with her seatmate this morning.

But she forgets the instances when she had been introverted and reserved -- which, in fact, are more. Aside from selective memory, this also shows confirmation bias, or the tendency to search for or notice information that confirms a belief and avoid those supporting otherwise (Ulrich, 2004). To avoid this, try searching deeper down memory lane; one might just find pieces of evidence disconfirming the claim of the description. Resist flattery. Self-serving bias is one's tendency to perceive oneself favorable, no matter what the objective evidence (MacDonald.