Divination and Psychological Effects

Estimated reading time: 2 m

My divination consists of 50% logic, 40% psychological effects, and 10% mystique.

In this blog, I will post my theory of divination.

Here, I will refer to the person who tells fortunes as a Reader and the person who listens to fortunes as a listener. (Because I don't know how to say it in English)

1. Cold reading

To begin with, people can logically predict the future without using divination.

Prediction requires materials. Therefore, we can draw out judgmental materials through listener's body language, language, and casual chats. This is called cold reading. From this, we can predict the future and relate it to the result of the divination.

2. Barnum Effect

Everyone has a similar personality and ideal image. If you state it like it is a personal trait of the listener, the listener feels as if the Reader has seen through own mind and trusts the result. This is called the Barnum Effect.

3. Pygmalion effect

Most of the time, the listene'r question is a question mark on his own desire.Therefore, if you say positive words, the other person will be happy to take action to fulfill the desire.

By affirmation through divination, the listener gains confidence and is sure to fulfill his desire. This is called the Pygmalion effect.

4. Keep the atmosphere alive

If the atmosphere is good, it will make listener believe that the divination is actually true even before the ritual begins.

For example, I use antique books written in classical Chinese for divination. This is because doing so is more persuasive than quoting text from the Internet.

5. Missed predictions are not remembered

There is no need to be depressed if your divination is wrong.

There have been many prophecies, but only the ones that came true are passed on.

People don't remember the 2012 phenomenon, do they? 

That is the proof.

5. A Little Mystique

For questions that cannot be answered by empirical rules, we can only bet that the mystique of divination will tell us the facts. This is why we need knowledge of divination.

I consider divination to be a party entertainment, and I don't make a living at it. So I will not make a definite statement, but I believe that there is no magic without a trick, and likewise, there is no divination without a trick.