In an interview with Richard Dawkins for the U.K.’s Channel Four Brown explained that so-called mind reading is nothing more than the clever use of open-ended statements.
Cold reading is one technique that Brown says is in essence the psychic “supplying a lot of words and, as the sitter, the other person, is supplying the meaning to those words….It’s not forensic body reading…it’s not even that clever.”
The Forer Effect
In an article in Psychology Today Susan Krauss Whitbourne explains that cold readings, (also known as the Forer or Barnum Effect) rely on the willingness of subjects to defer to authority: “Simply put, people will believe any vague, generic set of personality descriptions of themselves if it appears that those descriptions come from a reputable source.”
Derren Brown confirms this by describing an experiment carried out by psychologist Bertram R. Forer in 1948. In the experiment, since repeated many times, a group of people is asked to provide a “psychic reader” with something such as a personal item or to answer a questionnaire. The reader then draws up an extensive, individual personality profile for each member of the group.
Brown says he’s done similar tests and that “invariably” the subjects say their personality profiles “are very, very accurate.” That’s because they contain statements such as “you tend to be a reserved person but open up to friends and are hurt if those friends betray you.” Such a statement can apply to just about everybody, but if it’s presented by an “expert” it carries great credibility.
At the end of the Forer experiment the subjects are then asked to share their profile with the person next to them. That’s when they discover the profiles are all identical.
How Do Stage Psychics Fool Their Audiences?
Writing for the Daily Mail (September 22, 2011) Paul Zenon describes how a stage psychic will work a theatre audience:
“ ‘I’m getting a Derek, a Donald… no, it’s a David,’ the middle-aged woman on the stage announces to ripples of excitement from the packed audience. ‘Does that mean anything to anyone? Does someone know a David who’s passed recently?’ ”
With such common names and a large audience the psychic is almost guaranteed to get a hit. She then goes on to give details about David that seemingly could only come from the “spirit world” in which he now exists. He was concerned about his hair falling out, or he had back pain, or he worried about dementia; common fears among the elderly but in the context appearing to come from psychic communication. Really, it’s all part of the cold reading technique.
More Deceptive Techniques Used by Psychics
But Paul Zenon, a former psychic, suggests more sinister goings on. He writes that most psychics have given up using plants in the audience to establish the credibility; then adds: “But what if the plants aren’t actually seen in the show? What if they just mingle with the audience, listening into conversation, only to sneak off and relay the information backstage before the show begins?”
He notes that if someone pre-ordered tickets using a credit card it’s a simple matter for a researcher to use the name on the card to look up a Facebook profile.
Zenon says it’s known in the trade as pre-show work and it’s been practiced for decades. Before the Internet assistants might troll through the obituaries in the local newspaper or look for freshly dug graves in the cemetery to gather information with which the psychic can dazzle her or his gullible audience.
The fact is that no scientific proof exists that physics can read minds or contact the dead. Every time they are asked to put their claims to the test in a controlled environment they fail.
Sceptic and psychic debunker James Randi has a long-standing offer of “a one-million-dollar prize to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event.” No one has yet claimed the cash.
Sources:
- “The Enemies of Reason.” Richard Dawkins, Channel 4, August 2007.
- “Fulfillment at Any Age.” Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Psychology Today, August 10, 2010.
- One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.” James Randi Educational Foundation, June 9, 2011.
- “What a Load of Crystal Balls.” Paul Zenon, Daily Mail, September 22, 2012.
Rupert Taylor - Rupert Taylor is the editor of a magazine that provides background to current events.
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