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This is called the Barnum effect

This is called the Barnum effect, named after the famous circus showmanP.T. Barnum. It's...

Explained • S01E14 • 2018

This is called the Barnum effect, named after the famous circus showman
P.T. Barnum. It's based on a 1949 study in which 39 college students
were given personality profiles and were told that they were based
on a psychological exam. But all the profiles
were actually identical. And described generic traits like, "your sexual adjustment
has presented problems for you." All but one of the students said they mostly agreed
that the traits described them. The Barnum effect
suggests that, basically, everyone sees themselves
in any horoscope presented to them

Full Transcript

00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:02.585

This is called the Barnum effect,

00:00:02.668 --> 00:00:06.297

named after the famous circus showman P.T. Barnum.

00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:09.759

It's based on a 1949 study

00:00:09.842 --> 00:00:13.763

in which 39 college students were given personality profiles

00:00:13.846 --> 00:00:16.682

and were told that they were based on a psychological exam.

00:00:17.266 --> 00:00:20.436

But all the profiles were actually identical.

00:00:20.645 --> 00:00:22.897

And described generic traits like,

00:00:22.098 --> 00:00:26.359

"your sexual adjustment has presented problems for you."

00:00:27.001 --> 00:00:29.999

All but one of the students said

00:00:29.111 --> 00:00:31.614

they mostly agreed that the traits described them.

00:00:32.323 --> 00:00:34.784

The Barnum effect suggests that, basically,

00:00:34.867 --> 00:00:39.872

everyone sees themselves in any horoscope presented to them.

Duration

40 seconds

Views

38

Timestamp in Movie

00:12:59

Uploaded

Jun 27, 2025

Season

1

Episode

14

Genres

Production

Amicus Productions

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Movie Summary

A documentary series that looks to explore the big questions of today.