Survey: survey about belief in astrology



1. (required) Do you generally believe that astrology works? (i.e. that an astrologer can use astrological techniques to help give advice or predict future events)

Yes
No


2. (required) Which of the following two tests, do you think would be a more fair way to test whether astrology really works?

Collect volunteers for a study. Divide them into two random groups. In the first group, each volunteer has a one-on-one "consultation" with a professional astrologer. In the second group, each volunteer has a one-on-one "consultation" with an actor pretending to be an astrologer, but who is really making up convincing-sounding advice at random. (However, volunteers don't know what group they're in, so all volunteers think they are talking to an "astrologer".) A week later, ask the volunteers to give a rating to the "astrologer" that they talked to, based on whether their advice was good and their predictions accurate. See if the real astrologer got higher ratings than the actor.
Find a group of people who consult astrologers regularly (for example, you could post a notice in an astrologer's office, with the astrologer's permission, asking customers to sign up for a study). Ask those people, on a scale of 1 to 10, whether they believe that their astrologer gives good advice and makes accurate predictions in general. The higher the ratings, the greater the likelihood that astrology works.