A new study led by researchers from the University of Lund (Sweden) has discovered that narcissism and low intelligence are the best predictors of belief in astrology, that is, thinking that the stars influence our day-to-day lives , and that serve to define our character or predict the future.
The research focused on examining whether individual personality traits could predict belief in unfounded astrological beliefs. They collected 264 responses through an online questionnaire, assessing participants’ beliefs in astrology using a shortened version of the Astrology Belief Inventory assessment, as well as personality, narcissism and intelligence tests.
“The main result showed that the greater the narcissism, perhaps surprisingly, the greater the belief in astrology. The positive association is possibly due to the egocentric worldview that unites them, although this should be examined in future research, ” the authors wrote. who publish their study in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
After controlling for all the variables, the experts concluded that the higher the participant’s level of intelligence, the less they believed in astrology.
They also point out that the fact that believers in astrology are increasing may be associated with the stressful times we are experiencing with the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushes people to resort to unfounded beliefs.
“While adopting astrology may seem innocent, it may facilitate uncritical thinking and encourage prejudice,” the researchers explain. “Also, belief in astrology correlates with belief in many other pseudosciences, as well as belief in conspiracy theories, indicating that it might not be as harmless.”
Â
Â
Referencia: Ida Andersson, Julia Persson, Petri Kajonius,
Even the stars think that I am superior: Personality, intelligence and belief in astrology,
Personality and Individual Differences, 2021, 111389, ISSN 0191-8869,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111389.
