TheNightling
@TheNightling
0
How to spot the fake psychics:
Here are a list of terms to learn when dealing with people pretending to be psychic.
1. Cold reading. A cold reading is a vague, fake, psychic reading in which you give some vague, generic, information and let the person you are addressing feed you the rest of the information to continue the show. “I am sensing someone with a name starting in J. Is that important at all?” “Yes, my uncle James!” Cold readings tend to use common names (James or J sounding name or an M name) and common numbers. Five is one of the most popular numbers because people tend to always have something in the range of three to five, whether relatives, or years since a disaster, or age of a child, etc.
A cold reader also analyzes their intended target based on how they react (often accidentally feeding them information), how they dress, who they are with, how they talk, age, gender, etc, and use that in their con.
2. Hot reading. This is (perhaps) sleazier than a cold reading. It requires researching or having someone research, the personal history of the intended target. This can give you a lot of information if you find out a relative has died, or if they had a family member in the news. Hot readings are often done in conjunction with Cold Readings.
3. Barnum effect AKA A Warm reading. A Warm Reading is based on the Barnum effect, named for P. T. Barnum. This is when the fake psychic relies on confirmation bias and generalized statements that could apply to virtually anyone. This trick preys on the subject’s desire for the psychic encounter to be real and it relies on the vagueness of the supposed psychic’s statements such as “There are times you feel extremely tired.” and “You have experienced loss.” These statements can apply to virtually anyone. This is similar to The Rainbow Ruse but unlike a Rainbow Ruse it does not necessarily have an internal contradiction.
4. The Shot gun method. Ever notice John Edwards and The Long Island Medium talk pretty fast, throwing out seemingly specific events to a large crowd? They do this really fast and it will look like they’re doing an accurate reading. If he babbles out his readings he can rush past anything he got wrong (that no one latched on to) and focus on the things confirmed as accurate by someone in the audience.
6. The subliminal Cold Reading. / Transcendental Temptation - This is where the supposed psychic is very good at deduction and observation but also manages to accidentally convince themselves that they’re a psychic. They’re so good at seeming psychic and relying on things like Cold Readings that they trick themselves into believing it’s otherworldly. It’s likely that many fake psychics have actually deceived themselves.
7. The ideomotor effect. This often happens with the use of the Ouija board / Spirit board, automatic writing, and communication with a pendulum. Essentially this is when someone using such a device is actually tapping into their own subconscious and don’t realize that they, themselves are moving the pendulum, Ouija board planchette, or pen. Now one could argue that a supernatural force could be manipulating the person’s mind or body to cause this but studies have indicated it is the person’s subconscious.
8. Rainbow Ruse – The Rainbow Ruse is when a fake psychic says something generic and potentially contradictory. By doing this they say something that could apply to virtually anyone. An example of this is “You enjoy the company of those you love but sometimes you want to be alone.” This can be applied to both extroverts and introverts at the same time.
9. Confirmation bias. A confirmation bias is when you seek out details, or evidence that already applies to your already-established beliefs. You don’t consciously do it. Most humans are just hardwired to seek validation and affirmation for what they already believe. Not only does the person latch onto things that seem to fit their already existing beliefs, but they will ignore things that contradict those beliefs. An example of this is when someone is convinced they are haunted by a dead, beloved, relative. Any evidence that it’s not their relative, or even not a real haunting, might be ignored. And people with a strong religious belief in the existence of demons might be quick to believe anything potentially supernatural must be demonic even if there’s ample evidence to the contrary.
If someone already believes in a popular psychic like John Edwards or Sylvia Brown, then they may ignore everything fishy about the person because one or a few things the person said may be true.
10. Mark / Target / Sitter – These are all terms for the target of a deliberate hoax psychic.
Here are a list of terms to learn when dealing with people pretending to be psychic.
1. Cold reading. A cold reading is a vague, fake, psychic reading in which you give some vague, generic, information and let the person you are addressing feed you the rest of the information to continue the show. “I am sensing someone with a name starting in J. Is that important at all?” “Yes, my uncle James!” Cold readings tend to use common names (James or J sounding name or an M name) and common numbers. Five is one of the most popular numbers because people tend to always have something in the range of three to five, whether relatives, or years since a disaster, or age of a child, etc.
A cold reader also analyzes their intended target based on how they react (often accidentally feeding them information), how they dress, who they are with, how they talk, age, gender, etc, and use that in their con.
2. Hot reading. This is (perhaps) sleazier than a cold reading. It requires researching or having someone research, the personal history of the intended target. This can give you a lot of information if you find out a relative has died, or if they had a family member in the news. Hot readings are often done in conjunction with Cold Readings.
3. Barnum effect AKA A Warm reading. A Warm Reading is based on the Barnum effect, named for P. T. Barnum. This is when the fake psychic relies on confirmation bias and generalized statements that could apply to virtually anyone. This trick preys on the subject’s desire for the psychic encounter to be real and it relies on the vagueness of the supposed psychic’s statements such as “There are times you feel extremely tired.” and “You have experienced loss.” These statements can apply to virtually anyone. This is similar to The Rainbow Ruse but unlike a Rainbow Ruse it does not necessarily have an internal contradiction.
4. The Shot gun method. Ever notice John Edwards and The Long Island Medium talk pretty fast, throwing out seemingly specific events to a large crowd? They do this really fast and it will look like they’re doing an accurate reading. If he babbles out his readings he can rush past anything he got wrong (that no one latched on to) and focus on the things confirmed as accurate by someone in the audience.
6. The subliminal Cold Reading. / Transcendental Temptation - This is where the supposed psychic is very good at deduction and observation but also manages to accidentally convince themselves that they’re a psychic. They’re so good at seeming psychic and relying on things like Cold Readings that they trick themselves into believing it’s otherworldly. It’s likely that many fake psychics have actually deceived themselves.
7. The ideomotor effect. This often happens with the use of the Ouija board / Spirit board, automatic writing, and communication with a pendulum. Essentially this is when someone using such a device is actually tapping into their own subconscious and don’t realize that they, themselves are moving the pendulum, Ouija board planchette, or pen. Now one could argue that a supernatural force could be manipulating the person’s mind or body to cause this but studies have indicated it is the person’s subconscious.
8. Rainbow Ruse – The Rainbow Ruse is when a fake psychic says something generic and potentially contradictory. By doing this they say something that could apply to virtually anyone. An example of this is “You enjoy the company of those you love but sometimes you want to be alone.” This can be applied to both extroverts and introverts at the same time.
9. Confirmation bias. A confirmation bias is when you seek out details, or evidence that already applies to your already-established beliefs. You don’t consciously do it. Most humans are just hardwired to seek validation and affirmation for what they already believe. Not only does the person latch onto things that seem to fit their already existing beliefs, but they will ignore things that contradict those beliefs. An example of this is when someone is convinced they are haunted by a dead, beloved, relative. Any evidence that it’s not their relative, or even not a real haunting, might be ignored. And people with a strong religious belief in the existence of demons might be quick to believe anything potentially supernatural must be demonic even if there’s ample evidence to the contrary.
If someone already believes in a popular psychic like John Edwards or Sylvia Brown, then they may ignore everything fishy about the person because one or a few things the person said may be true.
10. Mark / Target / Sitter – These are all terms for the target of a deliberate hoax psychic.
