Are you into astrology? Even if you are not an avid horoscope reader, perhaps you find it encouraging from time to time. Especially when your birth chart analysis or horoscope tell you that you are destined for success, perhaps that it is just on your doorstep.
Yes, many people read their horoscopes without taking it seriously. But if it happens that the message was sharp and creative, the next thing that will come into their minds is the credibility of the content. But come to think of it, how did the astrologers found out that the planets and the stars can predict our success? Fortunately, there are people who are willing to provide us with answers.
A new study was carried out by the folks from Astrology.com. They’ve found out that a horoscope, whether it’s positive or negative, can affect a person’s subsequent attitude and achievements in quantifiable ways, regardless if they believe in it or not.
Ironically, even those people who claimed to be scientifically-minded are not immune to the impact of astrology-based predictions. According to psychologist Magali Clobert, head of a research team at Stanford University, the act of opening a newspaper and looking for daily horoscopes can impact a person in more ways than one.
In the journal Personality and Individual Differences written by Clobert and her team, they have discussed the three experiments they carried out to explain this dynamic. The first one involved 189 students from a university in America. A part of the group was given the task to read about the process of brewing beer and was later asked to provide a summary. Most of them recapped a technical text about the given topic.
However, Clobert and her team asked other participants to scan their horoscope for the day. They were also asked to summarize what it says. Of course, the experiment was manipulated beforehand. Others received positive messages while some were given unfavorable horoscopes.
The third leg of the experiment involved the final group. Instead of reading their own horoscopes, they were asked to read and summarize the horoscopes of other Zodiac signs. Then, all 189 participants were asked to participate in three different tests. The tests were categorized as numerical, verbal cognitive performance and non-verbal.
The team conducting the experiments then calculated the scores of the participants. They found out that the part of the group who were intentionally given the positive messages showed great performance in cognitive tasks.
Another experiment was conducted again. The team recruited 193 American adults online. They were given the same tests, however, this time; the researchers included the famous well-known Remotes Associates Test. The participants were given with three words and were asked to provide a fourth word that can be associated with each of them. The team was keen to find out the impact of astrology-based prediction on people’s creativity. Again, the results were the same. Participants who have read positive horoscope performed better than those who were intentionally given the negative ones.
Of course, it was not surprising that the effects were not uniform. According to Clobert, people who tend to reason out that the events in their lives were results of their own actions are less likely to become consumers of astrology. They have little interest in their birth map and on how faith and destiny work. Moreover, the team found out that the negative horoscopes affected only the participants who claimed to be consumers of astrology.
To sum up, Clobert said that the information we consume can impact us, regardless if we have understood it or not. Because astrology provides us with endless information about what the future would look like, humans cannot be blamed for forming expectations in their minds. Unwarily, our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors will conspire with each other to make those positive predictions happen.
