Closely related to the Forer effect, subjective validation is an important element in cold reading.
[2] According to Bob Carroll, psychologist Ray Hyman is considered to be the foremost expert on 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.
In essence, subjective validation is a confirmation bias towards information that personally benefits one's self-esteem.