Why horoscopes are true: The effects of specificity on acceptance of astrological interpretations

Astrology has fascinated people for thousands of years, as they look to the skies for "accurate" information about themselves. Historically, support for astrology decreased because of the disfavor of the Christian church and the growth of scientific explanation of phenomena. Recently, however, a rebirth of interest in the field of astrology has occurred in western culture ̂ ^̂ ^ Horoscopes appear in our daily newspapers; astrological books abound. Major universities have included astrology in their curricula^^' " *^\ and even clinical psychologists and psychiatrists have begun to contribute to the resurgence of astrology. Junĝ '̂ ^̂ utilized astrology with his patients, and popular magazines give reference to other clinical uses of astrology^'; 4, p. 78) Although it is likely that most proponents of the clinical use of astrology do not identify themselves publicly, some professionals have been noted for their use of astrology in treatment ^̂ ' P**• ^°\ In fact, Dobyns has gone so far as to state, "It is my firm conviction that the psychotherapy or counseling of the future will use the horoscope as routinely as we now use the interview and background data on the subject(î P^\" The increased interest in astrology on the part of both laymen and professionals could refiect the fact that astrological information actually does relate to individuals' personalities and behaviors. The type of astrology involved in making judgments about an individual's personality is called natal astrology. A review of the relevant findings, however, generally shows no support for the contention that natal astrology relates to an individual's personality ^̂^ '̂ '• "• ^*\ Therefore, at the level of relating an individual's birth datum to behavioral observations made about that individual by others, there is no present support for the "accuracy" of natal astrological interpretations. Verification (or acceptance) of horoscopes therefore may come at a second level, in which the individual relates how accurately the natal astrological personality description fits his or her self-conceptualization and perception. The present study seeks to explore this second line of verification, in which the individual subjectively matches his or her self-perception with the natal astrological interpretation. Part of the accuracy of natal astrological statements probably stems from the fact that these interpretations are general in nature. Gauquelin^^^ has reported that 30% to 60% of the population admit to the belief that there is some truth in general astrology statements. In a related study, Couderc advertised himself as an astrologer in the newspapers, and in response to hundreds of inquiries he sent each person an identical mimeographed general and ambiguous natal horoscope. He received over 200 "thank-yous" that praised his accuracy and perceptiveness^*P^^\ Additionally, it has been documented consistently that individuals readily accept general personality interpretations supposedly based upon information derived from psychological tests as accurate descriptions of their personalities^^"• ^^' '̂̂ ' 8̂. w. 21) ^\i of these studies taken together suggest that it is the general nature of the personality statements that usually are utilized in horoscope descriptions that in part increases the "accuracy" of these descriptions. In the present study, it was hypothesized further that an individual's acceptance of the accuracy of a horoscope description would increase when the individual believed the interpretation was based on specific birth information—the more specific birth time available for the astrological interpretation, the more the interpretation would be accepted as accurate. Some support is given to this theorization from a related area: it has been found that the accuracy or acceptance of a psychological interpretation is increased when the