The Barnum Effect and Witchery

 

    Previously, I have done research on the Barnum Effect and astrology. When we first started discussing witchcraft in class and talking about the climate surrounding most witch accusations (meaning, there was always something inexplicable going on), I started to think about how the accusations were mainly people convincing themselves of something. The concept mentioned a few times in class of ‘believing something to the point of it being true’ is something that has also caught my attention because the first thing that comes to mind is the Barnum Effect. I’ve decided to research a bit more about witches (broadly, paranormal beliefs) and the Barnum Effect.

              To start, the Barnum Effect is basically believing something is personal to you when it applies to everyone. The definition of the Barnum Effect is “the tendency to accept certain information as true, such as character assessments or horoscopes, even when the information is so vague as to be worthless” (Oxford Languages). One of the best examples of the Barnum Effect is horoscopes.  A horoscope gives you a basic, not specific description such as “you can be very hard on yourself, you are a determined worker” and the reader believes the horoscope to be true because they like what is being said.

    The Barnum Effect can be beneficial because it might give someone confidence or change their perspective, but it can also be harmful because you are being pumped with information that is incorrect. The Barnum Effect and paranormal activity have an interesting relationship, it can impact how people accept readings or predictions. For example, when the Barnum Effect is applied to a Taroh Card reading, the person having their cards read might believe that these cards and predictions are specific to them. The Barnum Effect is how beliefs are spread. If someone believes something to be true and passes it along, it turns into a cycle of widespread beliefs just because someone believes something to be true. In a sense, the Barnum Effect brings up an interesting viewpoint when looking at the spread of the belief of witchcraft. The witch trials and the belief of witches began partially due to the Barnum Effect. People in town and in the church believed that it was witchcraft causing these things and convinced themselves that it was witchcraft when there was nothing going on. The Barnum Effect in the conversation of witchcraft also has a sort of confirmation bias. For example, if someone believes that witchcraft occurs around this time or instance, they are more likely to notice other instances that confirm that belief. When the Barnum Effect is applied to witchcraft, the results of readings and spells are significantly impacted. Statements that are broad can be taken personally and in the case of the witch trials, people paid attention to instances that confirmed their beliefs, and ignored the ones that contradicted them. I'm instrested to learn more specifics about witch trials and see other areas for the Barnum Effect to have infiltrated.