Question

Frida was informed by a professional palm reader: "You generally communicate openly with others, but you have certain dark secrets that even your closest friends could never guess." The fact that Frida was impressed by the palm reader's insight into her personality best illustrates?

1) the self-reference phenomenon.
2) the Barnum effect.
3) the spotlight effect.
4) an external locus of control.
5) unconditional positive regard.

Answer 1

Frida's impression of the palm reader's insight is an example of the Barnum effect, where vague and general statements are perceived as personally significant.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement given by the palm reader to Frida and her impression of the palm reader's insight into her personality best illustrates the Barnum effect. This psychological phenomenon occurs when individuals believe that vague, general statements about personality are highly accurate for them personally, even though the statements could apply to many people. The Barnum effect is named after P.T. Barnum, the showman who famously said that "there's a born every minute," which reflects the idea that people can easily be fooled or persuaded into believing general statements are personally meaningful.

The other options provided do not accurately describe this situation: the self-reference phenomenon involves people relating information to themselves, thereby aiding recall; the spotlight effect is when individuals overestimate how much others notice their appearance or behavior; an external locus of control pertains to an individual's belief that external forces determine their fate, and unconditional positive regard is a term from humanistic psychology referring to total acceptance without judgment.