Barnum effect

The Barnum effect is the tendency to accept as accurate and personal a description that is in fact vague enough to fit almost anyone. The psychologist Bertram Forer demonstrated it in 1948 by giving his students the same personality profile, which most of them rated as highly accurate; the name Barnum effect was later given to it by Paul Meehl. Knowing about it helps keep a consultation in perspective: a statement that rings true is not necessarily one that could only apply to oneself.