# How does this cold-reading work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 11, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-cold-reading-work/452575 "2008-06-11T15:20:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-cold-reading-work/452575/21 "2008-06-12T02:20:52Z")
> [@](#): > > I just remembered another one. A woman called in and said that she had felt a presence in her house. It just started though she had lived there several years. He immedietely told her she was pregnant and that it was the future child’s presence checking out the home. The DJ then asked if she really was pregnant and she said yes. Gawd, that seems going on a limb…and if it wasn’t a plant/con I’d like to know how he does it. Oh, this one’s easy. There are two possibilities: She knows she’s pregnant, and says so, in which case it looks like a big hit. Or, she doesn’t yet know that she’s pregnant. In that case, maybe she ought to buy a home pregnancy test. If it’s wrong, there’s no way to be certain right away that it’s wrong, so he really can’t lose. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-cold-reading-work/452575/22 "2008-06-12T05:21:44Z")
Hang on, I don’t see how that was a "solid hit " at all. He said the apartment had a cutting demon that made people cut themselves … she said she used to cut herself \*6 years \*before she moved into the apartment. So unless she has started cutting herself again after moving in … no hit. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-cold-reading-work/452575/23 "2008-06-12T10:12:32Z")
We can’t know for sure how this particular ‘psychic’ came up with this particular ‘hit’ on this particular occasion. We just don’t have enough data. It is unlikely that the psychic has stooges or confederates calling in to the show. This is harder to arrange than it may sound, and it just isn’t necessary - there’s no need for either the psychic or the radio station to take the risk of this being exposed. However, it is perfectly possible for the psychic to have received more information, or more clues, in advance of taking the call, than the listeners are aware of. What usually happens is that a production assistant takes the calls and lists them on a screen relayed to the presenter and the psychic. The PA may note down several details that appear on this feed screen but are not mentioned during the broadcast. The problem with trying to analysis anything like this retrospectively is that we don’t know what the psychic would have said if the response had been different. If he makes a guess (steered by available clues) and gets a hit, it looks great. If it’s not a hit, it may lead to an exchange where more options are explored (aka ‘a fishing trip’) until he can offer an interpretation that the client accepts. I’m still the only person in the world who has given media demonstrations of cold reading, under test conditions, using all four of the main psychic masks - astrology, tarot, clairvoyant and spirit medium. I have hits to my credit that are just as unlikely and impressive-sounding as the story told in the OP, and so does every other cold reader of any experience. However, if the consistency is as remarkable as the OP makes out, then I think we’re entitled to suspect that the psychic is actually getting more helpful background clues and info than the listeners are aware of. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-cold-reading-work/452575/24 "2008-06-12T11:09:14Z")
Listen to **ianzin**. Listen to his words. Know them and be amaaazed by them. Listen. When I snap my fingers, you will immediately read this [staff report](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcoldreading.html) and this [wikipedia entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Rowland). He knows what he’s talking about. Now sleeeep … sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-cold-reading-work/452575/25 "2008-06-12T11:26:46Z")
**To the OP:** I’m really not impressed by the example you’ve given. Consider: 1. Self-harm is actually pretty common among young girls, and further I bet there’s a correlation between believing in ghosts and self-harming. 2. Perhaps the caller’s voice and choice of words gave the psychic extra clues that perhaps she bore some of the characteristics of those who self-harm (e.g. low self-esteem). 3. Having admitted that she’d self-harmed in the past, and that she’d recently moved into _her first apartment_ I really don’t think it’s such a stretch to postulate that she may be feeling like self-harming again: she’s going through a period of change in her life. 4. If your paraphrasing is correct, the psychic only _asked_ if she’d cut herself again. If she’d said “yes” that would be a cast-iron hit. If she’d said no, it wouldn’t be a miss: it was just a question after all. In the event, she just said she’d had certain urges; and you still interpreted that as a hit. This is what cold-reading’s all about. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-cold-reading-work/452575/26 "2008-06-12T14:26:46Z")
I’m inclined to agree with ianzin. In a radio call-in show, there is never such a thing as a completely cold call. There is always a screener who hands the callers off with a bit of background information, which is probably helping the “cold” reading. Also, this “cutting demon” thing sounds like a gamble with low risk and a high likelihood for a huge payoff. There’s a better than average chance that she would turn out to be a self-mutilator, for reasons discussed already. But if not, the “cutting demon” could turn out to be cutting one’s income, one’s family ties, one’s self-esteem, one’s energy, there are so many possibilities. Finally, there’s just good old confirmation bias… he’s figured out the game well enough to maximize the spectacularity of the hits, while minimizing the misses, which nobody remembers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-cold-reading-work/452575.md?page=1)