What does your horoscope say today? Do horoscopes affect love and marriage? Here's what psychologists say

You need the love and admiration of others, or at least you are interested in obtaining it, but at the same time you are very suspicious of yourself, you believe that others do not understand you enough, and although there are some weaknesses in your personality, you are able to compensate for them in some way.

You have abilities that have not yet appeared and that you have not been able to use to your advantage.

You have made an important decision in your life recently, but you feel confused and seriously doubt whether you made the right decision or not.

If you feel that the above sentences apply to you and your personality, you are not alone, the vast majority of readers will probably find that these statements describe their situation accurately.

This is just a simple example of sentences that you can find in any newspaper or website that contains horoscope predictions and recipes.

You must have heard of horoscopes before, and

horoscope. And his sign, some signs don't fit together, right?

Horoscopes and astrology are still very popular around the world, east and west. A poll published in 2018 showed that

(1).

The popularity of this field has not decreased much, even with the advancement of various scientific fields, including psychology and its studies that refute and explain the reasons that attract people to these fields.

Can these sciences tell you if your personality matches the other person's personality?

Do horoscopes tell us about the success of marriage and romantic relationships?

What are the theoretical foundations of the so-called astrology and horoscopes?

What is the difference between it and space science?

And why do so many people believe in it?

What do modern psychology studies say about this?

In this article, we attempt to answer precisely these questions based on the foundations of psychology and modern science.

What are the constellations?

Constellations are constellations that you can see in the night sky depending on your location on Earth.

It has been called by different names, including the names of animals, people, or certain shapes by different civilizations through time, according to the shape that human imagination makes when connecting imaginary lines between these stars in the sky.

There are about 88 constellations known to date.

The shape of the sky and the constellations that can be seen every day varies according to the location of the Earth and the location of the viewer on Earth as well, as shown in the following figure:

What is the difference between astrology and astronomy?

Astronomy is the science that studies everything in outer space, including all celestial bodies and galaxies and everything related to them through scientific methodology (based on the collection of data, evidence and proof), and the use of techniques and principles of other sciences such as physics, chemistry and mathematics.

As for what is called astrology, it is not a science;

Because the modern scientific method does not depend on any of its foundations or methods, but it is summarized in the belief that the locations of star groups, celestial bodies, or space/astronomical events and phenomena can help us in predicting the future or telling about human beings’ personalities, behaviors and traits, and there is no specific source or sources. It can be referenced to learn the basics or logic of this field.

Is there a scientific basis to support "astrology"?

It is common for many to differentiate between following the horoscopes to know the characteristics of the characters and following them for future predictions, and saying that they follow them for the first thing and nothing more.

Is it really possible to differentiate between them?

Are horoscopes more accurate in predicting personalities than they are in anticipating the unseen?

In fact,

When looking at the studies we have, we find that most of the research focused on the study of astrology and horoscopes specifically in terms of their relationship to personality traits. These studies included tens of thousands of people from different cultures and with diverse and solid statistical methods. The maximum possible degree of objectivity and impartiality in the study of the phenomenon.

However, the

their science , as it has been repeatedly proven that they fail to achieve what they claim .

These studies began since the forties of the last century, and continued until the new millennium (5)(6)(7).

Because astrology does not only claim to reveal personality type, but also predicts the compatibility of personalities or not, other research has addressed and refuted this aspect as well.

In a large and recent study published in 2020 in Sweden,

(8).

It is worth noting here that a few studies found a relationship between the date of birth and certain phenomena, but they did not attribute this to horoscopes and astrology.

For example, a study found that most professional hockey players in North America were born in the first months of the year (1-3), and that only 10% of players were born in the last months of the year (10-12) (9 ).

Another example came from studies that found that most patients with schizophrenia were born in the colder months of the year.

However, these studies remain focused on specific phenomena that are smaller than predicting personality in general, and rather than coming up with “extraterrestrial” explanations.

It is therefore important to say that

, as a number of scientists have indicated the possibility of this and the necessity of studying it. 11)(12).

But what is meant here is that the realization of these effects - if they exist - must come from the entrance to scientific studies and systematic experimental research, not to claim complete narratives that the research failed to prove or even justify logically.

Why do people believe in horoscopes?

The main factors that drive people to believe and follow horoscopes can be summarized into 5 main explanations, which are:

• 1- vagueness and generality of descriptions and predictions;

  What makes it more attractive and believable:

In 1949, the American psychologist Bertram Furer conducted a study that became one of the most important classic studies on which he is based to explain people's interest in horoscopes and other phenomena such as cup reading and palm reading ... etc. He gathered a number of his students and told them that he would give each of them a description of his/her personality. Based on their results on a psychological test he devised,

, given that each sentence in the description could be given a number from 0 (not at all accurate) to 5. very accurate) (13).

Here are some of the original sentences (a total of 13 sentences) that Forer used in his research to describe the students' personalities:

• Although you are disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be anxious and insecure on the inside.

• One of your main goals in life is to feel safe.

• Some of your ambitions tend to be irrational.

• You have found it unwise to be too outspoken and show aspects of yourself to people.

And perhaps, naturally, you will find yourself described in these sentences, too!

The results of this research excited Forer, as well as many other scientists, to show us the concept of the fallacy of personal validation, which later became known as the Barnum-Forer Effect, which is a very common phenomenon. In which individuals give high ratings to the accuracy and believability of the descriptions that describe their personalities, although the reason for this is that these descriptions are so vague and general that they apply to so many people,

In other words, these descriptions and predictions, which are used in horoscopes and in many other areas, are human experiences that most people go through and apply to their lives.

Although astrology vehemently claims that its predictions and descriptions are specific (as we will elaborate on in the next point), the ideas and phrases it uses are largely lacking in individuality, and many linguistic and practical tricks are used to get through as well.

Subsequent research has found that this 'Barnum effect' increases with the addition of words that reduce the clarity of the sentence/description, such as "sometimes", or make it more extreme, such as "very".

She also concluded that the process of "character and fortune-telling" does not occur in a vacuum, as the identity of who gives these descriptions and predictions and who receives them plays an important role.

For example, the more famous or high profile an “expert” is, the more people are convinced that what he says is true.

This explains a lot of what we see on TV and social media screens when the New Year and other seasons approach, and explains why people can pay their free money to listen to a famous person who is not academically or scientifically qualified to describe their personalities and read their fortunes.

The more concerned a person is with himself, the more likely he is to resort to horoscopes, astrology, and other pseudosciences.

Research followed after that to confirm the idea that

(14).

This tendency does not necessarily mean the validity of the instrument used for the measurement, of course.

Perhaps all of this is a confirmation of the phrase “astrologers lie even if they are true”, meaning that they will naturally believe, but this sincerity is not due to the sincerity of the curriculum as much as it is due to the generality of their words and their applicability to most people.

As humans, we often divide everything (including our personalities and events) into Normal Distribution curves, which make us very similar.

As such, it is a ploy to transcend the fragility of the curriculum and exploit the psychological biases and tendencies of humans to believe in myth and submit to a field that has no scientific or even logical basis.

• 2- Notifying the followers that these descriptions and expectations are their own and are tailored to their size:

Previous research focused on what we mentioned above in the first point as the most important and almost single explanation for the popularity of horoscopes and their belief in people, but subsequent research pointed to other pivotal factors, the most important of which is the ability of horoscope predictions to make people feel that they are very special to them.

Here the paradox made by astrology and the world of horoscopes appears clearly. It tells us generalities and vague sentences that apply to us only because we are human beings like others (as we mentioned in the first point), but in many ways it makes us believe that these generalities belong to us, thus wrapping them theoretically and linguistically with the cover of privacy and individuality. They tell you that this prediction is based on when you were born (month, year, sometimes day, hour and minute!), so how is it not your own?

So, according to the results of many subsequent research, the

In a study in which participants were divided into 3 groups: the first in which they were told that the descriptions mentioned apply to them because it is based on the day, month and year of their birth, the second because it is based on the month and year of their birth only (without the day), and the third they were told that the descriptions apply to them because they apply to humans in general .

As expected, although the descriptions were the same for all participants in all groups, participants in the first group described them more accurately than participants in the second, and were more assertive than those in the third group.

In another similar study, just telling participants that these personality descriptions were based on psychological tests they had administered made them confirm their validity much more than a group they were told were generic descriptions that applied to them because they applied to people in general (15) (16).

A recent study found that narcissism was one of the strongest factors associated with belief in and following horoscopes.

It is noteworthy that a very recent study found that narcissism was one of the strongest factors associated with belief in horoscopes and their follow-up, and this confirms the importance of the sense of privacy we are talking about here (17).

The bottom line is that horoscopes and astrology not only succeed because of their generality and vagueness, but to make people believe that they are theirs nonetheless.

“The fault, my dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, for we are insignificant men.”

Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare

• 3- The general positive and optimistic character of the predictions and characteristics of the horoscopes, and the lack of conflict with the human personality in a fundamental way:

Another important reason why people are interested in horoscopes is that their general character is usually kind and positive in their conversations with the person.

To be more precise, let's take a counter example from the Five Traits Test (which is the most accurate and powerful test in personality psychology).

Scientific personality tests may inform a person of real defects in him, and may make him feel clearly that there is a fundamental problem involved in his personality, and he should beware of it.

For example, a personality test may tell you that you are a little disciplined, and this makes you more likely to fail in your career if you do not take preventive measures and change your behavior.

As for the horoscopes, they usually focus on the positives of your supposed personality and what you should do to avoid bad fates that come from the outside, but they do not dive deep to confront the evils of yourself and its negative potentials.

The real tragedy of astrology and horoscopes lies in the role they play in our social contexts. Like other pseudosciences, they completely obliterate human rational and logical thinking.

And if we know that humans tend to accept positive descriptions more than negative (even if both are inaccurate or the negative description is more accurate), according to what research studies say, this helps us to understand another reason that pushes people towards horoscopes and astrology (18).

• 4- Connecting personality and events with high-level astronomical phenomena, giving a sense of control and knowledge, and providing a haven from uncertainty:

It is very exciting and poetic for someone to tell you that your personality and the events of your life are affected or proceed according to the movements of celestial bodies and complex cosmic laws.

Certainly, it is more attractive and epic than being the result of genes you inherited from your parents, dynamics that shape your personality, socio-political-economic factors that influence the way you think and behave, with a human freedom space that holds you responsible for your actions.

This is consistent with the study that found narcissism to be associated with belief in horoscopes, which we mentioned earlier (19).

Humans cannot cope smoothly with the enormous exposure that the empirical scientific method has brought to the mysterious worlds;

It still removed the "magic" character from the world in which we live in many aspects.

Many of them have an urgent need to believe in something. It is very difficult to live a purely materialistic life without believing in something paradoxical and grand narratives.

This explains why the popularity of horoscopes and astrology has not decreased, but perhaps increased in recent years in Western contexts, after the decline in the role of religion and effective ideologies in society (20).

It is very difficult for a person to tolerate uncertainty without rituals and superstitious beliefs that help him maintain a meaning apart from the natural world in which he lives (even if it is an illusion).

This is also similar to the idea of ​​conspiracy theories, which help people keep their perceptions of the world in check, and avoid real and bitter confrontations with oneself and the world.

These reasons we have mentioned, which are based on studies of modern psychology, can explain to us greatly and the concept of the widespread popularity enjoyed by the horoscopes and "astrology".

They all combine to make a person's belief in this field a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Thinking that they apply to them makes them look for evidence and create them to actually prove their validity. This can be achieved by “filtering” the facts and events by them so that it appears as if the descriptions and predictions of the horoscope actually apply to them, as well as by acting in a way that proves the predictions and descriptions of the horoscopes.

And when these evidences are present, they will believe the field as a whole, in a phenomenon similar to the “placebo effect” in medicine, which is used to describe the state of a patient’s response to a placebo drug simply because he is convinced that it is a useful drug.

Even if thousands of researches prove the inaccuracy and accuracy of this field, many will still believe in it and follow its predictions and news. The problem does not end when the predictions and descriptions are proven wrong.

If a person is biased towards a certain result before asking the research question in the first place, then he necessarily loses the ability to evaluate it objectively.

The disaster of material exploitation and surrendering oneself to illusions

The real tragedy of the world of astrology and horoscopes lies in the role they play in our social contexts. Like other pseudosciences, they completely obliterate human logical and rational thinking, and push them to believe myths and deal with them on the basis of self, others and the world.

And in contexts in which scientific thinking and the role of science in society are absent, whether as institutions or as individuals, these areas take precedence and quackery becomes the highest authority that can be relied upon in the search for certainty and self-knowledge.

In this process, a lot of people's efforts, money and time are wasted while they are deceived by the sweet words and beautiful, blurry sentences that they think are their destiny.

In fact, horoscopes have potential negative effects on human communication, as they encourage stereotypes, and push people to interact with others and sometimes choose their relationships and friends based on their dates of birth.

In any case, it is always good for a person to keep his critical sense alive, even in the most scientific and experimental contexts. Man is not just an execution machine without a free will that can choose, change and control fate, so what about when what we are talking about is just “astrology”?!

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