Definition of Forer Effect

Explanations on the personality and the character coming from the pseudosciences lack validity and rigor, but despite this we trust in this type of assessment. The Forer effect attempts to demonstrate how people fall for the traps of astrologers, fortune-tellers, and other so-called experts in the mysteries of the human soul.

In 1948 the psychologist Bertram Forer carried out an experiment to demonstrate the mental mechanisms that push us to believe in pseudoscientific explanations about personality.

This American psychologist made a personality test to several students from psychology. All of them received the same assessment of their way of being, but this circumstance was revealed to them at the end of the experiment.

In the diagnosis that were presented to them they said things like "sometimes you feel especially insecure", "sometimes you wish separate yourself from others "," your way of being is not always understood "," you have the need to be admired ", and so on.

This type of result was accepted by all the participants, as they felt identified with it.

To prepare the questionnaire Bertram Forer collected a series of statements from the horoscopes of the magazines.

Keys to the Forer Effect

From our subjective assessment we tend to give valid explanations of a general nature. We identify with them for several reasons:

1) we all fit the diagnosis, as it is based on vague statements that are valid for anyone,

2) we trust the authority the person making the diagnosis or the information source and

3) We satisfactorily value information as long as it has a positive meaning.

In short, we convince ourselves of a series of statements because they are prepared for us to fall into the trap.

It is applicable to the set of pseudoscientific explanations

Although science is the highest knowledge available to man, many people feel a powerful attraction by doctrines totally removed from scientific criteria. They believe in mysterious forces that rule the world, in the influence of the stars on our lives and in all kinds of proposals that talk about Energy invisible that move the strings of our existence.

All these explanations are very attractive, but they lack foundation and, in fact, they are not accepted by the scientific community.

According to psychology, pseudoscientific discourses seem convincing because we ourselves incorporate some kind of bias cognitive, that is, their own criteria based on some form of prejudice that end up favoring self-deception.

Photo: Fotolia - Artistan

Themes in Forer Effect