Chris A Roe - Cold Reading Strategies.pdf

/ Cold%20reading% Cold reading strategies 0 Chris A. Roe Psychology Division, University College Northampton 1. Introduction There can be little doubt that the relatively high levels of belief in para normal phenomena among members of the general population are due in part to impressive experiences which they were unable, after consideration, to account for in terms of more mundane processes (cf. Schmeidler, 1985). Irwin (1985), for example, reports per sonal experience to be the primary factor loading on belief, irrespective of the breadth of the measure. One potentially important source of impressive experiences is through interactions with professional psychics such as palmists and Tarot readers (Schou ten, 1993), and a number of mentators have claimed (without citing particular empirical evidence) that clients are typically impressed with the content of readings they have solicited (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 (. Haraldsson, 1985; Palmer, 1979). One recent survey (Roe, 1997) found that a surprisingly high proportion (%) of the sampled population had atten ded 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 them. 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 studies evaluating material produced during ostensibly psychic readings, Schouten (1994) concluded that "there is little reason to e