cold reading.docx

cold reading.docx

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coldreading

Coldreading

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Thisarticleisaboutthecommunicationtechnique.Forthetheatricaltrainingtechnique,seeColdreading（theatrical）.

Coldreadingisaseriesoftechniquesusedbymentalists,psychics,fortune-tellers,mediumsandillusioniststodetermineorexpressdetailsaboutanotherperson,ofteninordertoconvincethemthatthereaderknowsmuchmoreaboutasubjectthantheyactuallydo.[1]Withoutpriorknowledgeofaperson,apracticedcoldreadercanstillquicklyobtainagreatdealofinformationaboutthesubjectbyanalyzingtheperson'sbodylanguage,age,clothingorfashion,hairstyle,gender,sexualorientation,religion,raceorethnicity,levelofeducation,mannerofspeech,placeoforigin,etc.Coldreaderscommonlyemployhighprobabilityguessesaboutthesubject,quicklypickinguponsignalsfromtheirsubjectsastowhethertheirguessesareintherightdirectionornot,andthenemphasizingandreinforcinganychanceconnectionsthesubjectsacknowledgewhilequicklymovingonfrommissedguesses.

Contents

[hide]

∙1Basicprocedure

∙2Othertechniques

o2.1Shotgunning

o2.2TheForereffect（Barnumstatements）

▪2.2.1Warmreading

o2.3Therainbowruse

∙3Contrastingclaimsofperformers

∙4Subconsciouscoldreading

∙5Inmoviesandontelevision

∙6Seealso

∙7References

∙8Bibliography

∙9Externallinks

[edit]Basicprocedure

Beforestartingtheactualreading,thereaderwilltypicallytrytoelicitcooperationfromthesubject,sayingsomethingsuchas,"Ioftenseeimagesthatareabitunclearandwhichmaysometimesmeanmoretoyouthantome;ifyouhelp,wecantogetheruncovernewthingsaboutyou."Oneofthemostcrucialelementsofaconvincingcoldreadingisasubjecteagertomakeconnectionsorreinterpretvaguestatementsinanywaythatwillhelpthereaderappeartomakespecificpredictionsorintuitions.Whilethereaderwilldomostofthetalking,itisthesubjectwhoprovidesthemeaning.Also,subjectswithasituationofgrief,illness,orfinancialneedwilltendtobemuchmoreacceptingofhints,suggestions,orguessesmadebythereader.[originalresearch?

]

Afterdeterminingthatthesubjectiscooperative,thereaderwillmakeanumberofprobingstatementsorquestions,typicallyusingvariationsofthemethodsnotedbelow.Thesubjectwillthenrevealfurtherinformationwiththeirreplies（whetherverbalornon-verbal）andthecoldreadercancontinuefromthere,pursuingpromisinglinesofinquiryandquicklyabandoningoravoidingunproductiveones.Ingeneral,whilerevelationsseemtocomefromthereader,mostofthefactsandstatementscomefromthesubject,whicharethenrefinedandrestatedbythereadersoastoreinforcetheideathatthereadergotsomethingcorrect.

Subtlecuessuchaschangesinfacialexpressionorbodylanguagecanindicatewhetheraparticularlineofquestioningiseffectiveornot.Combiningthetechniquesofcoldreadingwithinformationobtainedcovertly（alsocalled"hotreading"）canleaveastrongimpressionthatthereaderknowsorhasaccesstoagreatdealofinformationaboutthesubject.Becausethemajorityoftimeduringareadingisspentdwellingonthe"hits"thereaderobtains,whilethetimespentrecognizing"misses"isminimized,theeffectgivesanimpressionthatthecoldreaderknowsfarmoreaboutthesubjectthananordinarystrangercould.

[edit]Othertechniques

AccordingtoJamesUnderdownfromCFIandIIG"Inthecontextofastudioaudiencefullofpeople,coldreadingisnotveryimpressive."Underdownexplainscold-readingfromamathematicalviewpoint.Atypicalstudioaudienceconsistsofapproximately200people,dividedupinto3sections.Aconservativeestimateassumeseachpersonknows150people.Whenapsychicasksthequestion"Who'sMargaret?

"heishopingthereisaMargaretinthe10,000peopleinthedatabaseofthatsection.Ifthereisnoanswer,theyopenthequestionuptothewholeaudience'sdatabaseofover30,000people!

WoulditbesurprisingfortheretobeadozenMargaretsinsuchalargesample?

"[2]

[edit]Shotgunning

"Shotgunning"isacommonlyusedcoldreadingtechnique.Thereaderslowlyoffersahugequantityofverygeneralinformation,oftentoanentireaudience（someofwhichisverylikelytobecorrect,nearcorrectorattheveryleast,provocativeorevocativetosomeonepresent）,observestheirsubjects'reactions（especiallytheirbodylanguage）,andthennarrowsthescope,acknowledgingparticularpeopleorconceptsandrefiningtheoriginalstatementsaccordingtothosereactionstopromoteanemotionalresponse.

Thistechniqueisnamedafterashotgun,asitfiresaclusterofsmallprojectilesinthehopethatoneormoreoftheshotswillstrikethetarget.Amajorityofpeopleinaroomwill,atsomepointforexample,havelostanolderrelativeorknownatleastonepersonwithacommonnamelike"Mike"or"John".

Shotgunningmightincludeaseriesofvaguestatementssuchas:

∙"Iseeaheartproblemwithafather-figureinyourfamily,afather,agrandfather,anuncle,acousin...I'mdefinitelyseeingchestpainhereforafather-figureinyourfamily."

∙"Iseeawomanthatisn'tabloodrelative.Someonearoundwhenyouweregrowingup,anaunt,afriendofyourmother,astepmotherwithblacknessinthechest,lungcancer,heartdisease,breastcancer..."

∙"Isenseanoldermalefigureinyourlife,whowantsyoutoknowwhileyoumayhavehaddisagreementsinyourlife,hestilllovedyou."

[edit]TheForereffect（Barnumstatements）

TheForereffectreliesinpartontheeagernessofpeopletofillindetailsandmakeconnectionsbetweenwhatissaidandsomeaspectoftheirownlives（oftensearchingtheirentirelife'shistorytofindsomeconnection,orreinterpretingstatementsinanumberofdifferentpossiblewayssoastomakeitapplytothemselves）.

"Barnumstatements"（namedafterP.T.Barnum,theAmericanshowman）arestatementsthatseempersonal,yetapplytomanypeople.[3]Andwhileseeminglyspecific,suchstatementsareoftenopen-endedorgivethereaderthemaximumamountof"wiggleroom"inareading.Theyaredesignedtoelicitidentifyingresponsesfrompeople.Thestatementscanthenbedevelopedintolongerandmoresophisticatedparagraphsandseemtorevealgreatamountsofdetailaboutaperson.Atalentedandcharismaticreadercansometimesevenbullyasubjectintoadmittingaconnection,demandingoverandoverthattheyacknowledgeaparticularstatementashavingsomerelevanceandmaintainingthattheyjustaren'tthinkinghardenough,orarerepressingsomeimportantmemory.

Statementsofthistypemightinclude:

∙"Isensethatyouaresometimesinsecure,especiallywithpeopleyoudon'tknowverywell."

∙"Youhaveaboxofoldunsortedphotographsinyourhouse."

∙"Youhadanaccidentwhenyouwereachildinvolvingwater."

∙"You'rehavingproblemswithafriendorrelative."

∙"Yourfatherpassedonduetoproblemsinhischestorabdomen."

Regardingthelaststatement,ifthesubjectisoldenough,hisorherfatherisquitelikelytohavedied,andthisstatementwouldeasilyapplytoalargenumberofmedicalconditions.Thelistincludes:

heartdisease,pneumonia,diabetes,emphysema,cirrhosisoftheliver,renalfailure,mosttypesofcancer,andinfacttoagreatmajorityofcausesofdeath.

[edit]Warmreading

Warmreadingisaperformancetoolusedbyprofessionalmentalistsandpsychicscamartists.Whilehotreadingistheuseofforeknowledgeandcoldreadingistheuseofgeneralpresumptionscommontohumanexperience,warmreadingreferstothejudicioususeofBarnumeffectstatements（alsoknownastheForereffect）.

PeterHustonoriginatedthisphraseinhisbookMoreScamsfromtheGreatBeyond!

:

HowtoMakeEvenMoreMoneyOffofCreationism,Evolution,Environmentalism,FringePolitics,WeirdScience,theOccult,andOtherStrangeBeliefs.[4]

Whenthesepsychologicaltricksareusedproperly,thestatementsgivetheimpressionthatthementalist,orscamartist,isintuitivelyperceptiveandpsychicallygifted.Inreality,thestatementsfitnearlyallofhumanity,regardlessofgender,personalopinions,age,epoch,cultureornationality.

ThefollowingpassageonwarmreadingcomesfromRobertT.Carroll'sSkeptic'sDictionary:

Warmreadingissometimesusedtoreferto"utilizingknownprinciplesofpsychologythatapplytonearlyeveryone"whiledoingapsychicreading.MichaelShermerusestheexpressionthisway.WhatShermergivesasanexampleofwarmreading,RayHymanandIanRowlandwouldgiveasanexampleofcoldreading.Shermernotesthatmanygrievingpeoplewillwearapieceofjewelrythathasaconnectiontotheirdeceasedlovedone.Toclaimtogetsomesortofmessageaboutapieceofjewelrybelongingtothedeceasedwhiledoingareadingwilloftenshockaclient,whowillmaketheconnectionandtakeyourmessageasasignyouhavemadecontactwiththeotherside.[5]

[edit]Therainbowruse

Therainbowruseisacraftedstatementwhichsimultaneouslyawardsthesubjectwithaspecificpersonalitytrait,aswellastheoppositeofthattrait.Withsuchaphrase,acoldreadercan"coverallpossibilities"andappeartohavemadeanaccuratedeductioninthemindofthesubject,despitethefactthatarainbowrusestatementisvagueandcontradictory.Thistechniqueisusedsincepersonalitytraitsarenotquantifiable,andalsobecausenearlyeverybodyhasexperiencedbothsidesofaparticularemotionatsometimeintheirlives.

Statementsofthistypemightinclude:

∙"Mostofthetimeyouarepositiveandcheerful,buttherehasbeenatimeinthepastwhenyouwereveryupset.