Are Astrology Followers Gullible? Not Necessarily

"Would you be surprised if I told you that more Americans know their astrological signs than their blood type? That's what a Quest Diagnostics survey found in 2023. According to their findings, 66 percent of Americans knew their horoscope sign, while only 58 percent knew their blood type (which declined to 47 percent of Millennials and 32 percent of those in Gen Z). Edwards et al. (2025) cited this unfortunate statistic in their recent research that claimed people with less education and intelligence had greater belief in astrology."

"The Survey To understand the limitations of Edwards et al.'s (2025) findings that lower intelligence and less education predicted a greater belief in astrology requires an understanding of how the research was conducted. A survey of 8,553 US adults asked, "Do you believe astrology is scientific?" The available answers were not at all scientific, sort of scientific, and very scientific. 63.5 percent answered not at all scientific, 29.8 percent chose sort of scientific, and 6.7 percent selected very scientific."

"As you might guess, the 63.5% majority of respondents who stated astrology is not at all scientific had higher education levels and intelligence scores, while people with less education and lower intelligence scores (and who happened to represent more of the women and people of color in the cohort) gave more scientific merit to astrology. The researchers acknowledged that the wording of the survey does not measure belief in astrology and also stated that people may not have known what astrology was and/or may have confused it with astronomy."

A national survey reported that 66 percent of Americans knew their horoscope sign while 58 percent knew their blood type, with lower rates among Millennials and Gen Z. A separate research finding associated lower education and intelligence with greater endorsement of astrology, and noted higher prevalence among women and people of color in the sample. A survey of 8,553 US adults asked whether astrology is scientific using three response options; 63.5% said not at all scientific, 29.8% said sort of scientific, and 6.7% said very scientific. Important limitations include questionnaire wording that may not measure true belief and potential confusion between astrology and astronomy.

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