How can we discover information about people by using horoscopes?

zbeckabee

Astrology is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs in which knowledge of the apparent relative positions of celestial bodies and related details is held to be useful in understanding, interpreting, and organizing information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters. Astrology is not a proven science...therefore, tread lightly with a salt shaker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrology That having been said, I'd suggest that one begin by perusing the various astrological signs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_sign Dec 01 08, 3:34 PM

author

Because of the math involved in crafting astrological readings, many believers claim astrology is a science--but it really isn't. Real science works because it deals with assertions that can be proven using careful experiments. Scientists start with a theory--known as a hypothesis--about why something may be the case, then carefully test this theory. Astrology doesn't really work that way. http://encarta.msn.com/column_astrology_marthahome/astrology_serious_science_or_strictly_for_fun.html Dec 01 08, 4:02 PM

queproblema

We can discover how gullible people are (or aren't) by reading them their newspaper horoscopes--or ours!--and watching their responses. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2198063.ece Dec 01 08, 7:11 PM

edmund80

You can glean some information about them, not from their astrological sign, but from the fact that they believe in horoscopes at all. There have been some studies in reputable publications, mainly on psychology, dealing with the personality traits of people who believe in astrology and in the paranormal in general. Again, these are not personality traits based on zodiac signs, but rather the likely characteristics and demographic data of people who believe in such things. For example, the journal Science (as also reported in Newsweek) released a study showing that belief in the paranormal, astrology included, spiked during times of economic distress and social anomie, brought on by the need for a sense of control. "But ours is also an age of anxiety, a time of economic distress and social anomie, as denizens of a mobile society are repeatedly uprooted from family and friends. Historically, such times have been marked by a surge in belief in astrology, ESP and other paranormal phenomena, spurred in part by a desperate yearning to feel a sense of control in a world spinning out of control. A study reported a few weeks ago in the journal Science found that people asked to recall a time when they felt a loss of control saw more patterns in random noise, perceived more conspiracies in stories..." http://www.newsweek.com/id/165678/page/2 You can also get a clue as to the likely religious beliefs of the person, their religious upbringing or the lack of religious affiliations. "...a 2002 study in Canada did find a correlation between religious beliefs and paranormal beliefs... people who may have a high genetic susceptibility to 'faith-based knowledge' may end up being highly religious or may end up having belief in the paranormal depending on how they were raised..." "...those Christians who do not attend church very often (maybe once or twice a year) are the most likely to hold paranormal beliefs." Surprisingly, it appears that the higher one's education, the more likely they are to believe in paranormal things (again, astrology included). "Perhaps amazingly, [paranormal beliefs] are not related at all to education," Stark said. "Ph.D.s are as likely as high school dropouts to believe in Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, ghosts, etc." "The 2006 study of college students, done by Bryan Farha at Oklahoma City University and Gary Steward Jr. of the University of Central Oklahoma, reached a similar conclusion. Belief in the paranormal — from astrology to communicating with the dead — increases during college, rising from 23 percent among freshmen to 31 percent in seniors and 34 percent among graduate students." http://www.mindpowernews.com/ScienceOfSupernatural.htm Finally, two interesting social behavior studies done in France shows that that belief in astrology is a significant predictor of prejudice toward stigmatized groups (defined in that study as Arabs, women and overweight people). It also showed that ethnic prejudices were reinforced by that group's belief in astrology. http://www.atypon-link.com/SJP/doi/abs/10.2224/sbp.2004.32.7.627 In short, you can get information not from their astrological sign but from the fact that they believe in astrology. They are likely to be highly educated, under some kind of significant stress which they cannot yet control, are likely not regular practitioners of a Christian religion and if they are part of a minority group (if one wants to generalize from the French study), are likely suffering more prejudice and grief from the population at large because of such beliefs. http://www.atypon-link.com/SJP/doi/abs/10.2224/sbp.2004.32.7.627 Dec 02 08, 11:28 PM