Undergraduate Journal of Psychology - The Effect of the Nature and Perceived Validity of Zodiac Personality Predictions on Logic Test Performance - Volume 28, No. 1 (2015)

Sep 15, 2026

This study investigated how priming influences puzzle performance in 49 students. Participants read fictitious Chinese Zodiac personality descriptions and completed a Sudoku puzzle, with description content varied by nature (positive vs. negative) and perceived validity (valid vs. not valid). The manipulation used fictitious statistics that supported or refuted the descriptions’ validity. Results indicated no effect of perceived validity on performance, while positive/valid predictions produced better outcomes. The study also found a marginal trend toward rejecting negatively self-relevant information, extending priming research on positive and negative traits to clarify performance effects.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction and Background

Scientific validity of astrology

Barnum effect and acceptance

Priming, self-perception, and performance

Positive vs negative priming

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Evidence from prior studies

Potential benefits and mechanisms

Undergraduate Journal of Psychology The Effect of the Nature and Perceived Validity of Zodiac Personality Predictions on Logic Test Performance Volume 28, No. 1 (2015) Rebecca L. Brown, Moira E. Kisch, Maria R. Miller, Nicole M . Pacera, Rebecca M . Perrottet, and Jennifer L. Stevenson Ursinus College Abstract This study investigated the effect of priming on puzzle performance in 49 students. Subjects were given fictitious Chinese Zodiac personality descriptions and asked to complete a Sudoku puzzle. Descriptions were manipulated based on nature (positive or negative) and perceived validity (valid or not valid) of description. Subjects read fictitious research statistics that either supported or refuted the validity Chinese Zodiac Animal Signs in order to manipulate perceived validity. It was hypothesized that participants who received the positive/valid horoscope and negative/invalid horoscope predictions would perform best. Findings supported previous literature that priming subjects to think a certain way can affect behavior (Gramzow, Johnson, & Willard, 2014) . Subjects primed to think positively about themselves performed better than those primed to think negatively about themselves. Additionally, perceived validity of horoscope predictions had no effect on performance. This study also discovered a marginally significant trend for participants to reject information that negatively affected their selfperceptions. This research expands upon existing knowledge on priming of positive or negative personality traits in order to fully understand its effect on performance. Key Words: priming, validity, horoscope, Chinese Zodiac, self-‐perception In the United States an estimated 90% of newspapers contain horoscopes and 30-‐60% of readers admit to believing in astrology (Fichten & Sunerton, 1983) . Reading astrological predictions provides insight into one’s personality traits and skills based simply on date of birth. However many studies have shown that astrology has no scientific basis (Fichten & Sunerton, 1983; Crowe, 1990; Dean and Kelly, 2003) . For instance, a meta-‐analysis by Crowe (1990) of over 40 controlled studies indicated that astrologers were unable to predict personality more accurately than by simple chance, and that people born less than five minutes apart had no similarities in personality. Despite the lack of scientific support, many people continue to read and trust in astrological predictions. In fact, studies have shown that some people even make decisions based on their horoscopes (Snyder, 1974) . The influence of astrological predictions may be an instance of the Barnum effect: the tendency for people to rate sets of generic statements that could apply to many people as accurate to them personally. In a classic experiment, Forer (1949) found psychology students rated generic descriptions as accurately describing their true personalities (mean rating was 4 . 26 out of 5) . Countless studies have repeated Forer’s (1949) original experiment, supporting the conclusion of the Barnum effect, that people readily accept vague or trivial personality statements (e.g., Allum, 2011; Rogers & Soule, 2009) . In fact, Barnum acceptance has been found to be higher for subjects who have external locus of control and lower self-‐esteem (Rogers & Soule, 2009) . Belief and trust in these predictions can have powerful influences on behavior. Perhaps the true influence of astrology lies in the power of suggestion. Being told we are 47 EFFECT OF ZODIAC ON PERSONALITY or are not a certain way can have powerful effects on behavior. Priming can influence people’s self-‐perceptions, leading them to act and interpret what they experience according to the traits activated by priming techniques. This operates at least in part through the self-‐fulfilling prophecy, the idea that one’s expectations about circumstances, events or others can affect behavior in a way that cause those expectations to come tr

FAQs

How did the study prime participants in the Chinese Zodiac task?

Participants received fictitious Chinese Zodiac personality descriptions and were asked to complete a Sudoku puzzle. The descriptions and supporting or refuting statistics were manipulated to prime nature (positive/negative) and perceived validity (valid/not valid).

What was the main finding about perceived validity and logic test performance?

Perceived validity of the horoscope predictions had no effect on puzzle performance. Performance differences aligned with the priming of positive/valid versus negative/invalid predictions.

What additional effect related to self-perception was observed?

A marginally significant trend suggested participants tended to reject information that negatively affected their self-perceptions.

Sep 15, 2026

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