Variables Influencing The Effect
Studies have shown that the Barnum effect is seemingly universal - it has been observed in people from many different cultures and geographic locations. In 2009, psychologists Paul Rogers and Janice Soule conducted a study that compared the tendencies of Westerners to accept Barnum personality profiles to the tendencies of Chinese people. They were unable to find any significant differences .
However, later studies have found that subjects give higher accuracy ratings if the following are true:
- the subject believes that the analysis applies only to him or her, and thus applies their own meaning to the statements.
- the subject believes in the authority of the evaluator.
- the analysis lists mainly positive traits.
See Dickson and Kelly for a review of the literature.
Sex has also proven to play a role in how accurate the subject believes the description to be: women are more likely than men to believe that the vague statement is accurate.
The method in which the Barnum personality profiles are presented can also affect the extent to which people accept them as their own. For instance, Barnum profiles that are more personalized - perhaps containing a specific person's name - are more likely to yield higher acceptability ratings than those that could be applied to anyone.
Read more about this topic: Forer Effect
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