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 |    Not for the faint of art. |
| As an Aquarius, I'm way too skeptical to believe in astrology. I do, however, find it fascinating. This is akin to how I find Star Trek fascinating, but unlike astrology, the vast majority of people know that Star Trek is fiction. The belief in astrology, despite being scientifically debunked, can be attributed to a range of psychological factors that tap into how people think, perceive, and emotionally engage with information. And that's one of the reasons I find it fascinating. As there are 19 of these (the number of Zodiac constellations plus the number of traditional "planets"), I won't touch on each one. But here are some highlights: 1. Confirmation Bias People tend to pay closer attention to and primarily remember those astrological predictions that align with their knowledge, aspirations, goals, and desires, while ignoring or downplaying evidence that does not support them. I've banged on about confirmation bias here quite a bit. Everyone is susceptible to it, including me. I try to overcome it by identifying when and how it strikes, and attempting to be more critical of those articles that tickle my confirmation bias. Including this one. 3. Cognitive Dissonance People do not like admitting that they were wrong or that they’ve wasted their time and money on something that turns out to be a scam or simply not valid. I don't think that's what cognitive dissonance is. My understanding is that it's when you hold two (or more) conflicting beliefs in your mind at the same time. It can be uncomfortable. For belief in astrology to be considered as part of cognitive dissonance, then, one would need to also hold an acceptance of the scientific method and its findings, which indeed conflict with astrology. I do think we're all susceptible to cognitive dissonance, just like with confirmation bias. I could be wrong about that, though, and only one counterexample would be enough for me to abandon that belief. 4. Social Proof or the Bandwagon Effect Seeing large groups of people believe in astrology—not to mention that the practice has a long history, stemming from ancient times—can lead individuals to adopt the same attitude toward it. An idea being ancient is no reason to believe that it's true. Just because our ancestors were convinced the Earth was flat doesn't mean it's flat. Incidentally, I feel like believing in flat-earth and astrology is also cognitive dissonance. Yes, one can hold two false but mutually contradictory beliefs. To me, this is evidence that the human mind is actually pretty cool, even when it's wrong. 8. Cultural Conditioning and Cultural Pressure. Some cultures have made astrology a significant segment of their traditions and social interactions. One could make the same argument about religion. 11. The Placebo Effect and Emotional Reasoning Even though it is not scientifically valid, astrology can act as a trigger for a variety of positive psychological outcomes for those individuals who believe in its divinatory power. Which is one reason why I can't completely dismiss it. While I'm concerned about the potential harm of believing something that's simply not factual, such as superstitions, I can't deny that on occasion, belief can be a tool for personal growth. 15. Attribution Bias Astrology can offer external explanations for one’s successes or failures. But to me, that falls into the "harm" category. It can be scary to have agency, so some people give it up voluntarily. As I said, there's more at the link. I feel like many of them are applicable to other forms of belief without evidence, such as "natural" remedies (some of which do have evidence backing them up, but many are just magical thinking). To me, the mathematics and folklore behind it are what's interesting. It's kind of like myths or fables, or Shakespeare, to me: fiction, but an insight into human nature and the cultures that produced them. |
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