The Forer Effect: What Is It?

The Forer Effect, also known as the Barnum Effect (named after the famous showman and manipulator Phineas Barnum), is a psychological phenomenon where people believe vague, general statements about personality are highly accurate for them personally. The effect is named after Bertram Forer, a distinguished psychologist and one of the creators of the MMPI test. It’s also sometimes called the effect of subjective validation.

Essentially, the Forer Effect describes how individuals tend to rate general personality descriptions as highly accurate, especially when they believe the information is tailored specifically for them.

The Original Forer Experiment

Back in 1948, Bertram Forer conducted a famous experiment with his students. He asked them to take a personality test, promising to provide each student with a unique, individualized personality analysis. In reality, no analysis was performed. After a short wait (to simulate processing the results), Forer handed each student the exact same personality description. He made sure that students couldn’t compare their results with each other.

He then asked the students to rate the accuracy of their “individual” results on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest. The average rating was 4.26—a surprisingly high score.

The Personality Description Given to Students

You have a strong need for other people to like and respect you. You tend to be critical of yourself. You have a great deal of unused potential which you have not turned to your advantage. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them. You have difficulty maintaining regular sexual relationships. While you present a disciplined and controlled exterior, you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept others’ statements without satisfactory proof. You find it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be pretty unrealistic. Security is one of your major goals in life.

Why Does the Forer Effect Work?

As you can see, the description is extremely vague and non-specific. It closely resembles the kind of “predictions” you might find in a horoscope column in a weekly newspaper. For example, a magazine might say, “Sagittarians will be lucky next week, but not all of them.” This kind of statement is so general that anyone can relate to it, and there’s nothing negative or specific enough to be proven wrong. People start to believe the horoscope is accurate and that the prediction will come true—because it’s so non-committal, it can’t really be disproven.

The Forer text is general enough to apply to almost anyone. The experiment has been repeated many times in various forms, always with similar results. It’s often used to demonstrate just how trusting people can be when it comes to personality assessments.

When Do People Believe Vague Descriptions?

Research has shown that people are more likely to believe information is accurate when:

• It’s provided by someone they see as authoritative or credible.
• The description is mostly positive.
• They believe the description applies only to them.

It’s important to note that the Forer Effect relies on broad, ambiguous statements and personality traits that could apply to most people.

Who Uses the Forer Effect?

Many psychics, astrologers, and similar practitioners use the Forer Effect, often unintentionally. For example, you might visit such a specialist, answer a few questions, and receive a supposedly “accurate” description of yourself. Because the statements are so general, you feel they’re true and start to trust the specialist even more.

How to Protect Yourself from the Forer Effect

In conclusion, here’s some advice: If you read or hear information that’s written in vague, generalized language, don’t hesitate to ask for specifics and clarifications. Being aware of the Forer Effect can help you think more critically about personality assessments and predictions.