Psychics and Cold Reading Techniques

Aug 2, 2010
Jenny Ashford

Psychics Use Similar Methods to Magicians - Image Gunnshots (Don)

Alleged psychics ply their wares freely, but the illusion of psychic power can be demonstrated with common magicians' tricks.

In a 2002 poll, 57% of Americans claimed to believe that some people had psychic powers, including extrasensory perception (ESP), telepathy, or the ability to communicate with the dead. Though the business of psychic readings — whether done in person, over the phone, or on the internet — is tremendously lucrative, magicians and illusionists like James “The Amazing” Randi and Ian Rowland have long argued that alleged psychics who claim to have special powers use the same methods and tricks as magicians use in their performances when they wish to appear psychic. One of the most common of these techniques is called “cold reading.”

Cold Readings Versus Hot Readings

A cold reading gets its name from the fact that the information from a client is obtained “cold,” i.e. with no prior knowledge about the person. This is in contrast to a “hot reading,” where the magician or alleged psychic is able to obtain information about a client ahead of time, through internet searches or other methods.

Keen Observations

Alleged psychics, at least the successful ones, are usually very observant, and quite skilled at picking up cues from a person’s body language, tone of voice, and manner of dress. A great deal of information can be gleaned by simply watching how a client comports himself, and noticing small details.

It is rather easy to tell, for example, whether a person is shy or outgoing by observing their body language, and alleged psychics are quite adept at doing so. Additionally, a client with copious tattoos and piercings is going to have different personality traits than someone who appears more conservative.

Vague Generalizations

Another common trick of the psychic trade is the use of general statements about a client that sounds specific but could actually apply to almost anyone. A little knowledge of psychology helps here, but even someone without much experience can convince a client with a vague statement like, “I sense that you are an honest person overall, but you sometimes tell little white lies to avoid hurting other people’s feelings.” Not only is this statement general enough to apply to almost everyone, it also plays into a client’s desire to see himself in a positive light.

Subtle Fishing For Information

Clients who visit psychics for readings are usually believers in the phenomenon, and want the psychic to be genuine. This desire can of course be exploited, since believers (and people in general) are more likely to remember the information the psychic got right, and forget what the psychic got wrong.

Sometimes the client inadvertently supplies information that he later remembers as originating with the psychic. For example, if the psychic starts out with a general statement like, “I’m getting the impression of some special piece of jewelry,” the client may then leap in and provide information without really being aware that he is doing so: “Yes, my wedding ring. I recently lost it.” Now the psychic has a very specific piece of information to build upon, supplied by the client without realizing it.

Demographic Trends

Many magicians and the more calculating psychic readers often research demographic trends in order to give the illusion that they are able to home in on a client’s particular situation. Knowing things that are likely to be true of certain large segments of the population — for instance that people born before World War II tend to be conservative, that Generation Xers tend to be independent and entrepreneurial, and that the median age that men marry is 27—can be extremely helpful when the psychic wants to appear to know things about a person that ostensibly could not be known through other than psychic means.