Do you agree with this statement?

[GymLeaderMisty]

In the poll, I asked whether the statement of my signature apply to you:

"You're awful negative and pessimistic, but highly intelligent and level headed. You like to treat the world rather indifferently, watching with morbid interest as people ruin their lives so that you can say, I told you so."

This thread however is not about Pokémon, but whether that statement can be a "Barnum Statement." So, in this post, I ask why that statement applies to you, or why it doesn't. I am wondering whether that can be a general statement that can apply to anyone. For example, this was touted as a unique personality analysis for many people. When many people were given this as a personality analysis, they believed it strongly applied to them, even though it can apply to anyone.

You have a great need for other people to like and admire you. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have a great deal of unused capacity which you have not turned to your advantage. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them. Disciplined and self-controlled outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. You have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be pretty unrealistic. Security is one of your major goals in life.

Most of these statements could apply to anyone... there are not specific statements about one's personality. See the wikipedia articles for more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_reading
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forer_effect

As for myself, I agree with the Ninetales identity since I am very neurotic and introverted. (Also I have low conscientiousness, high openness to experience, and am generally not agreeable.) See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits

I rarely go out on my own, and generally prefer to stay at a library or at home on the Internet. And I am very fearful of the outside world saying it a place of decay.

 

[Feign]

The only thing you neglect to mention, which could be important too, is if you are happy with your current predicament. Because there are those who accept who they fully are, and there are those who may act like the above but still want to be socially accepted (or something to that effect). I think the vast majority of people who fall under this, would be the latter though, as not many people are determinately as your sig describes. I also purposely neglect to mention the reasoning as to why a person might be the way they are, in terms of the sig.

Saying all this though, I am not too far from the description either. Though I wouldn't go so far as saying "I told you so.", I'd probably just live my own life the way I'd want to live it.

 

[Rolling Pichu]

I think we're always biased when it comes to describing ourselves. There's nothing better than what we do when it comes to making other people aware of who we are.

That's mainly why I stay away from such things as personality signatures and stuff.

 

[Guillermo]

The way I see things, a lot of people put themselves down so their peers will tell them that they're wrong and compliment them.

But I do like to say, "I told you so."

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

I'm neutral on it, but the idea that these quizzes lend results that could be applied to a large population is particually true.

 

[Idiot!]

It's human nature to be liked and looked upon highly by others. That's why many people believed the passage. They want to perceived that way.

I hate telling people "I told you so!" I prefer to stop people from doing stupid things before it's too late. If they happen not to listen, I just get out of their lives until they want to listen again.