Emily Chan
But that did not mean they performed better. Those who considered themselves as a “world-class expert” only correctly guessed 2.2 out of 12 on average.
“If astrologers as a group had been able to do meaningfully better than chance, this study design would have supported the conclusion that astrology works,” explained the study authors. “But, as it turned out, astrologers in the study performed in a manner statistically indistinguishable from random guessing.”
In addition, the team looked at the performance of astrologers from different schools of astrology, such as Western, Chinese, Mayan and Renaissance.
The Hellenistic astrologers got the most correct—2.9 out of 12. Still, that score was no better than guessing. The researchers also strove to determine whether astrologers agreed with each other.
“The agreement rates among astrologers are very low, ranging from about 21 percent to 28 percent depending on experience level,” the authors stated.
“This suggests there is little consensus among astrologers when interpreting the same charts, even among those with high levels of experience.”
Overall, it seems that there is no evidence to back up the claims of astrologers. Perhaps you should think twice before basing your fate on the stars.
The study was published in Clearer Thinking.
