How Psychics Exploit Our Cognitive Biases

The video explores how cognitive biases, such as the Barnum effect, subjective validation, and confirmation bias, are exploited by psychics to convince clients of their abilities. It explains how these biases lead people to believe in generic statements and ignore conflicting evidence. The video also discusses selective memory and cold reading techniques used by psychics. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of understanding and combating these biases to avoid manipulation, not only by psychics but also by marketers and scammers.

What is a Barnum statement?

• A detailed analysis of one's past

• A generic description that seems personal

• A specific prediction about the future

• A statement that is always false

How does subjective validation affect our perception of psychic statements?

• It leads us to believe statements with personal significance

• It makes us skeptical of all statements

• It causes us to forget irrelevant details

• It ensures we only remember accurate predictions

What is confirmation bias?

• The inclination to confirm existing beliefs

• The practice of remembering only negative events

• The tendency to seek out new experiences

• The habit of questioning all information

How do psychics use selective memory to their advantage?

• By offering free follow-up sessions

• By ensuring clients remember only successful predictions

• By predicting future events accurately

• By providing detailed personal histories

What can help us avoid being manipulated by cognitive biases?

• Learning and actively fighting cognitive biases

• Ignoring all psychic readings

• Trusting only well-known psychics

• Relying on friends' opinions