Are you one of those people who read horoscope predictions?
Do you even know your own horoscope?
Well, i just recently discovered (as nonsensical they may be) horoscopic predictions about people's personalities and the common stereotypic qualities each zodiac sign possesses (i.e. Scorpios are passionate, Virgos perfectionistic, Leos are vain, etc etc). in psychology, we sometimes even scoff at horoscopes - they're considered "pop psychology" bluffs for the public. Personality is something that changes throughout a person's life stages - from childhood to high school to college life and finally to working life and later, family life. therefore it can be said that you cannot determine a person's personality for a 100% certainty. However, personality traits are on the other hand, a different matter.
Personality traits are characteristics in people that are considered relatively stable over time and these (are thought to) differ among people and are motivators of a person's behaviour. Some in the working field may have been exposed to Goldberg's Big Five personality dimension model which addresses 1) Extroversion vs Introversion, 2) Neuroticism, 3) Openness to change, 4) Conscientiousness and 5) Agreableness. Ah, but now i'm veering off topic again! I digress.
Back to the topic, i found it rather interesting to read all these horoscope prediction thinghymajiggies. Somehow i find it rather scarily accurate some things are that are said about my personality (I'm a Virgo) like how one article described Virgos as perfectionistic, analytical, very skeptical, distrustful in nature, have tendencies to turn molehills in to mountains and have an incessant need to be meticulous about hygiene... somehow i don't completely agree with these statements (Luke however, scoffed and said they are completely true, especially the molehills to mountains part) but how am i to believe how true these things are, especially given how i was taught NOT to believe in pop psychological assumptions? I actually was interested in looking at the boyfriend's horoscope and laughed at how they portrayed him as being a flagrant playboy who priotises his own ego over all else (he's a Leo). One article even mentioned that Leos can sometimes forget their partners after doing the deed because they're busy high-fiving themselves for scoring again! (O_O)
I suppose the most plausible answer to this is that horoscopes are true for those who WANT to believe it. If a statement was ambiguous and said that "you are very sociable and be the life of the party, but you also value your personal privacy and freedom" it can be interpreted in more ways than one. Anyone would be sociable in their comfortable circle of friends and would blab on and on and on until the cows come home. Also, who would NOT value their own privacy? therefore this statement can be said to apply to anyone and probably everyone! Doesn't that render this statement fraudulous? People also have the tendency to believe in self-fulfilling prophecies - you see the statements that relate most to yourself among all the rest and believe it to be true. As Descartes said, "Cogito, ergo sum" or in understandable terms, "I think, therefore I am". Translated, if you think a statement applies to you, you would believe it to be true. If you think you are a sociable person, you are or will be. Ergo, it all means that as horrifyingly accurate some of the things may be in horoscope and zodiac predictions are (astrology, numerology, palm-ology, fingerology, poopology or whatever-ology there are), you have to take it with a pinch of salt because these things are catered to your human tendencies to want to believe in them.
As for me, i still don't believe i'm perfectionistic at all if it weren't for the things that have happened in my past. So unless all Virgos have been through the same things i have (and we're talking about EVERYONE who has been born in the same month/time period here), these things may be interesting to read to pass the time, but it's not something to be taken seriously. Luke does not fit in the mould of a typical Leo at all! And thank god for that, otherwise i'd be with a rambunctious, flirty guy who'd want everything to be luxurious in life (=_=).
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