Cold reading strategies.docx

1、Cold reading strategiesCold reading strategies Chris A. RoePsychology Division,University College Northampton1. IntroductionThere can be little doubt that the relatively high levels of belief in paranormal phenomena among members of the general population are due in part to impressive experiences wh

2、ich they were unable, after consideration, to account for in terms of more mundane processes (cf. Schmeidler, 1985). Irwin (1985), for example, reports personal experience to be the primary factor loading on belief, irrespective of the breadth of the measure. One potentially important source of impr

3、essive experiences is through interactions with professional psychics such as palmists and Tarot readers (Schouten, 1993), and a number of sceptical commentators have claimed (without citing particular empirical evidence) that clients are typically impressed with the content of readings they have so

4、licited (Dutton, 1988; French et al. 1991; Hyman, 1989). Indeed there does seem to be some support for the claim that psychic readings are well-regarded by consumers (e.g. Haraldsson, 1985; Palmer, 1979). One recent survey (Roe, 1997) found that a surprisingly high proportion (29.5%) of the sampled

5、population had attended a reading at some time. Although some of these clients had attended only for entertainment or other social reasons, their readings were nevertheless typically regarded as relatively accurate and specific, with 50% of attendees believing the experience to be of some value to t

6、hem. This picture contrasts quite sharply with research investigating professional psychic readers, which provides little experimental evidence to support the view that they have paranormal access to information about their clients. In the most recent and most extensive review of quantitative studie

7、s evaluating material produced during ostensibly psychic readings, Schouten (1994) concluded that there is little reason to expect mediums more often to make correct statements about matters unknown at the time than . can be expected by chance (p. 221). How can these findings be reconciled? Often, s

8、uccesses by psychics have been explained not as a consequence of psychic ability, but in terms of the exploitation of common (but subtle) channels of communication using what has been termed cold reading (e.g. Schwartz, 1978; Randi, 1981). The concept is not new; Whaley (1989) for example describes

9、it as Originally the argot of psychic mediums by 1924 . from the fact that the customer walks in cold - previously unknown to the fortune-teller (p.173), and the stratagem was probably first hinted at in the writings of Conan Doyle through the instant face-to-face deductions of Sherlock Holmes, publ

10、ished from 1887.A more recent definition of cold reading, taken from Ray Hymans classic account of the effect, describes it as a procedure by which a reader is able to persuade a client whom he has never met before that he knows all about the clients personality and problems (Hyman, 1977: 20). Unfor

11、tunately, this does not give us much insight into the actual process of cold reading, and a perhaps more useful operational definition is given elsewhere by Hyman:The cold reading employs the dynamics of the dyadic relationship between psychic and client to develop a sketch that is tailored to the c

12、lient. The reader employs shrewd observation, nonverbal and verbal feedback from the client, and the clients active cooperation to create a description that the client is sure penetrates to the core of his or her psyche. (1981, p. 428)In practice, the techniques identified as examples of cold readin

13、g can vary in form from case to case; from a simple reliance on using statements which are true of most people (Dutton, 1988) through to a broader definition which includes pre-session information gathering about a client (Hyman, 1977; Couttie, 1988). Techniques such as fishing (to be described late

14、r) are regarded as central to some accounts (e.g. Randi, 1981) but as separate, supplementary methods by others (Whaley, 1989). There is a real danger that overliberal and inconsistent application of the term will cause it to lose any explanatory power it has.There are also clear indications that th

15、e cold reading process actually consists of a number of discrete and independent strategies. Hyman (1981) hints at this when he distinguishes between two types of reading - static and dynamic - which exploit quite different psychological mechanisms. The former makes use of commonalities between clie

16、nts to allow the reader to launch into a stock spiel which should apply equally well to all, whereas the latter depends upon interaction with the client to generate material which is more tailor-made to his or her specific circumstances. An initial attempt will be made here to identify and character

17、ise the actual techniques brought to bear in cold reading, and to specify their interrelationships. The model which has been developed is informed by two sources:1.1 Pseudopsychic literatureThere exists a substantial specialist literature describing the techniques involved in setting up as a pseudop

18、sychic, running under titles such as Money-making Cold Reading (Hobrin, 1990) and Cashing in on the Psychic (Ruthchild, 1978). This literature is typically produced to allow the peudopsychic fraternity to share resources and expertise, and is not intended to be generally available. Books are private

19、ly published or produced by specialist publishers of magic literature, and tend to be advertised in private circulation magic society catalogues and magazines. Access to these suppliers was made possible with the assistance of Professor Robert Morris and Dr Richard Wiseman. The latter is a proficent

20、 close-up magician and member of a number of magic societies, who was at that time a member of the parapsychology unit at Edinburgh. Together, we were able to build a reasonable pseudopsychic library from which to develop a description of cold reading practices as articulated by pseudopsychics thems

21、elves (Cain, 1991; Corinda, 1984; Earle, 1990a, 1990b; Fuller, 1975, 1980; Hester & Hudson, 1977; Hobrin, 1990; Jones, 1989; Lewis, 1991; Martin, 1990; Ruthchild, 1978, 1981; Webster, 1990).1.2 Interactions with a practicing pseudopsychicAn exploratory study, conducted in cooperation with pseudopsyc

22、hic Malcolm Davidson, allowed us to investigate the mechanics of cold reading in situ. Davidson had worked as a psychic reader in the Yorkshire region for over 15 years, but was at that time semi-retired and was happy to share some of his expertise with us. A one-day initial exploratory study was ar

23、ranged in which he was filmed giving separate readings to three individuals in the morning, and gave a commentary on the techniques being used in the afternoon. Three sitters (all female) were selected to represent a broad age range, and were invited to participate in a preliminary evaluation of a p

24、sychic reader. Sittings took place in the Universitys television studio, and were filmed using three video cameras. The first of these gave a side-on long shot (full body) of the sitter and reader. Cameras two and three gave mid-shots (waist up) of the sitter and reader respectively. Recordings from

25、 cameras two and three were edited together to give a vertical split-screen view of the interaction, with one half showing the reader and the other the sitter.Upon completion of the reading, each sitter gave immediate feedback, ostensibly to allow us to decide whether further testing would be fruitf

26、ul. Ss gave three ratings, indicating how impressed they were with the readings content, how relevant it was to worries or concerns they had, and how psychic they thought the reader was. Responses were given using a 7-point Likert scale, where 1 = not at all, and 7 = very much. Sitters actual rating

27、s are reproduced in Table 1:sitterimpressedrelevancepsychic?One655Two667Three111Table 1: Sitters ratings of their readingTwo of the readings were very well received, suggesting that the pseudopsychic techniques being used were successful in persuading these clients that the reader did have paranorma

28、l access to information about them. Subject three was an academic colleague who worked in the department. It seems likely that she did not conform to the stereotypes Davidson usually uses with women of her age. She is also most likely of the three to be generally sceptical of claims of psychic abili

29、ty. Immediately after supplying ratings, sitters were debriefed as to the true objective of the investigation.In the afternoon, we met with Davidson to review the video recordings. Davidson was video taped giving a commentary on the three readings, and answering questions about the actual methods us

30、ed. Copies of all video material are lodged with the Koestler Chair, and are available for inspection. Video footage was studied to compare theoretical accounts of cold reading as given in the literature with actual examples of the process in practice. We had intended to conduct further work with Da

31、vidson, but sadly he died before this could be arranged.2 An expanded model of cold readingThe above sources of information about the pseudopsychic technique suggest a model in which cold reading actually encompasses a number of discrete operations which appear to represent a hierarchy (see Figure 1

32、). All these processes involve the gathering of intelligence about the client, but are distinguishable on the basis of when and how transfer of information occurs, and of what form that information takes. Those at the base of the hierarchy require little, if any, interaction with the client, but the reading so-produced remains relatively vague or general. As the opportunity for interaction increases, so the reading can be made more specific to the client in attendance. Knowledge of all of the processes enables the reader to produce a reasonable sketch whatever situation he