Charisa Bossinakis
While astrology might be on the rise amongst Gen Z and millennials, researchers say that people who believe in star signs are less intelligent and more narcissistic.
We all know that one person uses their astrology sign as a scapegoat for terrible behaviour.
But a study published in Personality and Individual Differences says there’s a reason behind this: the study of the planets and moons correlating with our personality is due to higher levels of narcissism.
Not to mention a lower IQ.
The team of scientists at Lund University in Sweden cultivated 264 responses from an online questionnaire, where they observed narcissism and intelligence through a series of assessments.
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"The main result showed that the higher the narcissism, perhaps surprisingly, the higher the belief in astrology," the team wrote.
"The positive association is possibly due to the self-centered worldview uniting them, though this must be examined in further research."
They added: “The higher the level of intelligence, the lower the belief in astrology."
Each individual who participated in the research underwent the Belief in Astrology Inventory, the IPIP-30 Personality Scale and the Short Dark Triad of Personality (SD3-Narcissism) assessment, according to Psychology Today.
Intelligence was measured by four three-dimensional rotation items (measuring visual-spatial reasoning) derived from the International Cognitive Ability Resource.
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Scientists concluded that a strong belief in horoscopes lacked the ability of critical thinking, and it could lead to believing in other pseudo sciences.
They wrote: “Though embracing astrology might seem innocent, it is nonetheless possible that it facilitates uncritical thinking and favours biases.
“Further, belief in astrology correlates with belief in multiple other pseudosciences as well as with belief in conspiracy theories which indicates that it might not be all that harmless.”
They also expressed that the more individuals try to highlight their ‘uniqueness’, the more it could lead to a more ‘egocentric view of the world’, with the potential of a generation of growing narcissists looming.
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Yikes.
They added: “Since astrological predictions and horoscopes tend to be positively framed, this reinforces grandiose feelings and thus might appeal even more to narcissists."
While it may be a fun dinner discussion now and then, it might be time to ditch those birth charts.
Unless, of course, you’re a Taurus, then you’re a natural hoarder.