www.psychexamreview.com
In this video I describe one difficulty of assessing the accuracy of personality tests, which is that people's perceptions of accuracy are subjective. This was demonstrated by Bertram Forer, who gave participants false generic feedback from an assessment which was still rated as highly accurate. This tendency to find personal meaning in vague statements is known as the Forer Effect, or the Barnum Effect, after P.T. Barnum. This effect can also help us to understand the success of astrologers, psychics, and fortune-tellers, who rely on hazy predictions to swindle their victims.

Forer (1949) The Fallacy of Personal Validation: https://web.archive.org/web/20160305220420/http://apsychoserver.psych.arizona.edu/JJBAReprints/PSYC621/Forer_The%20fallacy%20of%20personal%20validation_1949.pdf

Like these videos? Consider supporting Psych Exam Review on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PsychExamReview

Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel to see future videos! Have questions or topics you’d like to see covered in a future video? Let me know by commenting or sending me an email!

Check out my book, Master Introductory Psychology, an alternative to a traditional textbook: http://amzn.to/2eTqm5s