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Metaphysics & Psychology

Could horoscopes be bad for you ?

By T.K. Randall
December 14, 2013 · Comment icon 22 comments

The Oslo astrological clock. Image Credit: CC 1.0 Nordic eMarketing
While astrology may seem harmless, new research has suggested that it could have an unexpected dark side.
The process of reading your star sign has long been associated with an improved mood and positive outlook, but a new study conducted by the Journal of Consumer Research has revealed that in some situations a negative reading can induce undesirable behavior.

Participants were each given a star sign reading and then asked to decide whether they were going to clean their house or go to a party. The results showed that those who were given an undesirable reading were more likely to make an impulsive decision and go to the party that those who had received a positive one.
"Conventional wisdom might suggest that for people who believe they can change their fate, an unfavorable horoscope should result in an attempt to improve their fate," the study authors wrote. "Our results showed that reading an unfavorable horoscope actually has the opposite effect on a person."

According to a different study released in November, more than 37% of the public consult their horoscope before they make a big decision and women are a lot more likely to do so than men.

Source: Telegraph | Comments (22)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #13 Posted by psyche101 10 years ago
I gave them up years ago. Every day they talked about work and what I should do at work. Not everyone is the same age. When you are in your 80s, work is the last thing you want to think about. I think more and more people are, which is encouraging I feel.
Comment icon #14 Posted by little_dreamer 10 years ago
My horoscope often promised good things that never happened. I was disappointed.
Comment icon #15 Posted by Awake2Chaos 10 years ago
Horoscopes and astrology, mean different things, at least to me. Astrological charts based on birth date can actually be very insightful. Little written horoscopes are just filler for newspapers and magazines. They really don't have anything to do with true astrology, at least the way I've seen it practiced. It does seem like a waste of money for a University to be researching such things; are they bored or something?lol
Comment icon #16 Posted by XenoFish 10 years ago
It's all self-fulfill prophecy if you got though with what it suggest. Which in my opinion isn't smart.
Comment icon #17 Posted by White Crane Feather 10 years ago
I used to read fortune cookies to my kids, I simply made up the fortune telling my boys how wonderful, handsome and loved they are. They actually believed the cookies were magic and personalized ( or at least pretended to) until they learned how to read for themselves. Funny thing though. Even though they know I'm going to read the fortunes my way, and they can read for themselves now, they still ask me to read them first.
Comment icon #18 Posted by Stygean Hugh 10 years ago
I read mine every day. Not just the two or three liner in the news paper. I hit up several sites, yahoo included. Generally, people who are not "in" to astology don't realize ther several levels to a daily horoscope, not simply the short general ones we tend to come across. I find my horoscope to be very accurate at least twice a week, sone tines more, but there definitely are those days were I read into it and think "this is some other taurus' 'scope," & dont think twice about it.
Comment icon #19 Posted by Rogue Suga 10 years ago
Not interested in horoscopes, star signs or astrology.
Comment icon #20 Posted by Whatsinausername 10 years ago
So which horoscope is best? The one from the newspaper? The one from one of the many magazines out there? Do you go with the reading that you think suits you best? If so then what about all the others? Are they wrong? These people who write them, do they have a genuine interest in your future? It's all meaningless and potentially harmful to peoples emotions and mental well-being.
Comment icon #21 Posted by Mikko-kun 10 years ago
So which horoscope is best? The one written to you by a professional astrologer, to your birth chart you give to them spesifically. I'm not saying forget the newspaper stuff, but take it with a healthy grain of salt. As everything, but especially the newspaper horoscopes when talking astrology. These people who write them, do they have a genuine interest in your future? I've given some brief readings and I do my best to give a honest reading, and a reading which gives a view on the alternatives you got or going to have when the situation hits you. It depends more on how much people are interes... [More]
Comment icon #22 Posted by Sushma 8 years ago
nice post thank tou for sharing


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