Divination, astrology, palm reading, tarot cards...


  Why do some young people always want to calculate a fortune in the New Year?

  At the end of the new year and the beginning of the year, social media posts about New Year's fortune predictions are particularly hot.

In order to have a smooth relationship, a promotion, a salary increase, and a successful academic career in the new year, many young people hope to "transfer" through divination, astrology, palmistry, tarot and other methods.

The cost of "transportation" is really not cheap. "588 yuan to measure a fleeting fortune, 688 yuan per second for a Tai Sui symbol"... Can luck really be predicted and reversed?

Why does the "Fortune Teller" seem to be "a bit accurate"?

What are the psychological reasons behind people's behavior of using divination and fortune-telling to analyze the fortune of the coming year at the end of the year and the beginning of the year?

  Wang Kui, an associate researcher at the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that in some cases, people are prone to believe in the existence of fate, such as encountering huge setbacks in real life, hoping to get out of the trough of life as soon as possible, or in the face of some important things that cannot be changed. Unable to wait.

In these states, people feel that their power is very small, and they are eager to get the blessing of external forces.

At the moment when the old and the new alternate, people want to look forward to the future, not only at the end of the year and the beginning of the year.

The combination of these two factors makes people more likely to turn to fortune-telling at the end of the year and the beginning of the year.

  Fortune-telling is a kind of superstitious activity, but after fortune-telling, many people feel that the "fortune-teller" is "very accurate". What is the reason?

Wang Kui said that this is because the "fortune teller" will take advantage of people's differences in focus, say some vague and general words, and use their strengths based on life experience.

  For example, Wang Kui said that if you observe carefully, you will find that "fortune tellers" usually don't say specific times and events, such as "Tomorrow your boss will accept your plan, and may give you a promotion or an increase because of this. Salary", and more likely to say "you have a noble person in your life to help you".

  Wang Kui explained that "noble person" is a very vague concept, willing to support our leaders or seniors, mentor our teachers in our studies, silently support our colleagues at work, accompany us in difficult times in life or give Those who give key advice are "nobles".

Therefore, if there is no time limit, then the phrase "there will be noble people in your life" can basically be applied to everyone.

Something like "you're likely to experience some setbacks next year".

Wang Kui said, in fact, not only "next year", we will encounter setbacks every year in our lives, just like the saying "unhappy things happen nine times out of ten".

  In addition, the "fortune teller" will also say some general descriptions of personality characteristics or internal states, such as "you sometimes feel that you are too soft-hearted", "you are a kinder person" and so on.

Wang Kui said that the vast majority of people think they are very kind, and the difference between people may be more about how to define kindness.

Sometimes, even if people know that they have done some unkind things, they will think that they are forced by the situation, forced as a last resort, or have difficulties or hidden feelings.

  Wang Kui once did an experiment when she was lecturing to students. She chose some words that were very suitable for young people in their early 20s. Every time she read a sentence, she asked the students to judge whether it was accurate or not, and she raised her hand when she felt it was accurate.

For example: "When you meet the opposite sex you like, you often can't show your charm very calmly" "Sometimes you can't hide your inner unease" "Sometimes you feel that being understood is a very luxurious thing".

Over 95% of students keep their hands up.

  Wang Kui further pointed out that even in terms of fate, some words can be understood from different perspectives, and which aspect the listener chooses to believe is actually related to their current state.

For example, in the sentence "Although you may experience many difficulties, it is not impossible to see the light", individuals who are more negative at the moment may pay more attention to the first half of the sentence "encountered many difficulties" and ignore the second half; More positive individuals are more likely to pay attention to the second half of the sentence "seeing the light".

  In addition, when a person goes to a "fortune teller", he often does not intend to hide his emotions and life status, and it is easy to express his worries and real situation.

Wang Kui, for example, said that if the individual said "the doctor suggested that the family members go through the discharge procedures, and it is recommended to go home to spend the final period of time", then the "fortune teller" would easily say "it's time to prepare for the funeral, It's not this month, it should be next month, and it won't be too long."

This is the "fortune teller" based on life experience, the use of "strengthening force" means.

Even sometimes, some of the words they say may be conclusions rather than predictions.

When a woman with a sad face goes to the "Fortune Teller" and says that her son's five love affairs have not gone well, the "Fortune Teller" can easily follow up with the sentence "He is related to marriage".

"Actually, at this time, what the 'fortune teller' does is not even a prediction, but in other words the facts that the seeker has discovered." Wang Kui said.

  Wang Kui said that in the past two years, everyone's life has been more or less affected by the epidemic, and we still don't know when the epidemic will end. In this state, some feelings of anxiety, confusion or confusion are Normal, especially those individuals who are more affected by the epidemic.

“During times of extreme depression, occasionally checking out a fortune-telling website, or paying a small fortune-telling fortune-telling won’t have any real consequences. But if someone takes advantage of your anxiety, restlessness, and confusion, tell you, if If you are willing to spend thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan, he can reverse your fate in some way within three to five days, then you better not believe it, no matter if his banner says a fortune teller or a fortune teller , numerology master, or psychological consultant." Wang Kui said.

  (Gao Yuan also contributed to this article)

  China Youth Daily, China Youth Daily reporter Xia Jin Source: China Youth Daily