If I knew magic, I could predict your character without touching your real person or even knowing you at all. Would you believe it? Don't believe me, see if the following paragraph describes you.
"You really need others to like and respect you. You tend to criticize yourself. You have many abilities that can be your strengths, but you also have some shortcomings, but you can usually overcome them. You have some difficulties in communicating with the opposite sex. Although you look calm on the outside, you are really anxious on the inside. You sometimes doubt whether the decision you made or the thing you did was correct. You like some changes in your life and hate being limited. You are proud of being able to think independently, and you won't accept other people's suggestions without sufficient evidence. You think it unwise to expose yourself too much in front of others. Sometimes you are outgoing, kind and sociable, and sometimes you are introverted, cautious and silent. Some of your ambitions are often unrealistic. "
Very accurate, right? But I tell you, I'm not a magician. I can't do magic. In fact, the above passage was written by a professor named bertram Flair from an astrological book in the 1940s. In class, Professor freire first asked students to complete a personality test and give feedback on the test results. Of course, it's not the real result, it's the above passage, but interestingly, 87% students think the personality test is very accurate.
Later, psychologist paul muller named bertram freire after the famous American circus artist Phineas Taylor Barnum, and the experimental result was "Barnum Effect". In other words, people will easily believe that a general and general personality description is especially suitable for them. Even if this description is empty, people still think it reflects their own personality.