This article is the second in an ongoing series focused on the different cognitive biases. My hope for you is that you learn to be aware of the processes that guide your thinking and become a better human being.

For readers who aren't familiar with the term, a cognitive bias is a processing error in the mind that happens when humans are interpreting information — in turn, it affects decision making. For a more detailed description, read the first article in the cognitive bias series... https://hypnosisforhumans.com/articles/confabulation.

Barnum Effect

The Barnum Effect gets its name from Phineas Taylor Barnum (AKA P.T. Barnum). He is best known as the founder (along with James Anthony Bailey) of the Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Although no one has ever been able to verify it, many humans credit Barnum for saying, "There's a sucker born every minute." But, in Barnum's defense, he fervently denied ever calling his patrons suckers. Instead, he called them "willing participants."

The Barnum Effect is in play when a human believes that something, such as a personality description, applies specifically to them (or at least applies more to them than other humans), even though the description could apply to most anyone.

This is why everyone should approach personality tests with skepticism, especially those found online, just as you should with subjects like astrology, horoscopes, fortune-telling, aura reading, psychics, clairvoyants, extrasensory perception (ESP), telepathy, psychokinesis, et cetera.

Every week, I read about someone who has given their life savings to a psychic healer to eliminate the lousy juju causing all their problems. Unfortunately, the victims of these cons believe that what they are being told is a solution just for them — when, in fact, it's the same script the swindlers use on all of their victims.

The Barnum Effect is not good or bad — it just is. It can be used to con you out of your life savings or it can contribute to a great night out.

For example, I use the Barnum Effect throughout my stage show. At one point during my performance, I ask a human to imagine any word they want floating in the air — and to see it written in their favorite color.

After they think of it, I ask, "You're thinking of your word written in blue, aren't you?"

Ninety-five percent of the time, I receive a surprise "yes" and a gasp from the audience. It's because studies show that blue is the most stated favorite color around the globe, but the human I have on stage believes they’re unique in their color preference. (Yes, my show is fundamentally based on obscure facts.)

So, what is a Barnum Statement, and what does it look like?

A Barnum Statement is a sentence that can apply to most anyone.

Read through the statements below. You will find that I wrote most of these specifically for you — and the 7.9 Billion other humans on Earth.

If a human isn't aware of the Barnum Effect, they will believe that the statements below are accurate and apply specifically to themselves.

• You want other humans to like you — maybe even admire you.

• You tend to be critical of yourself.

• You have a lot of unused potential that you have not fully tapped into yet.

• You have some personality weaknesses but have generally been able to compensate for them.

• You've had disappointments with some of your relationships.

• You tend to worry and feel insecure on the inside, but you hide it from the rest of the world.

• Sometimes you have serious doubts about whether you made the right decision or done the right thing.

• You enjoy a certain amount of change and variety and become anxious when your choices are restricted and limited.

• You're proud of being an independent thinker and don't accept the opinions of others without satisfactory proof.

• You've discovered it's best not to reveal too much about yourself to other humans.

• At times, you are extroverted, friendly, and sociable, while you are introverted, wary, and reserved at other times.

• Some of your goals tend to be pretty unrealistic.

Conduct your own experiment. Give these statements to a few humans you know and who have not read this article, and ask them to check the ones they believe apply to them.

When you see the Barnum Effect in action, you will begin to look at personality tests and the paranormal much differently.

Here is some homework for you. Watch this video featuring Derren Brown, and you will see the Barnum Effect work its magic. https://youtu.be/I6uj1ruTmGQ