Subjective validation

Subjective validation, sometimes called personal validation effect, is a cognitive bias by which a person will consider a statement or another piece of information to be correct if it has any personal meaning or significance to them.[1] In other words, a person whose opinion is affected by subjective validation will perceive two unrelated events (i.e., a coincidence) to be related because their personal belief demands that they be related. Closely related to the Forer effect, subjective validation is an important element in cold reading. It is considered to be the main reason behind most reports of paranormal phenomena.[2] According to Bob Carroll, psychologist Ray Hyman is considered to be the foremost expert on subjective validation and cold reading.[3]

The term subjective validation first appeared in the 1980 book The Psychology of the Psychic by David F. Marks and Richard Kammann.[4]

Subjective validation describes the tendency of people to believe or accept an idea or statement if it presents to them in a personal and positive way.[5] An example of subjective validation can be found in horoscopes, which often make vague, easily generalized personal statements, sometimes referred to as "Barnum statements", designed to apply to nearly any individual[6], such as: "You have a great deal of unused capacity, which you have not turned to your advantage." This can cause one to attribute future success to the horoscope and feel as if their belief in it has been validated. In essence, subjective validation is a confirmation bias towards information that personally benefits one's self-esteem.

Many of the validations that are given are not necessarily because they are true about ourselves but because people wish it was true about themselves[7]. When we think about all the fortune cookies we open, how many people don't wish that they are "a cheerful person everyone wants to be around." People tend to think of themselves in terms of values that are important to them, even if they don't show those values. They tend to believe they do, and they tend to believe it the more they hear it and read it about themselves.

This effect can be seen when it comes to health. For example, if someone enjoys eating bacon and they were to come across an article that talks about how healthy bacon is for you, they will tend to believe it more because this "validates" eating more bacon.[8]