Management of Positive and Negative Responses in a Spiritualist Medium Consultation

Analysis of two spiritualist medium consultations reveals the medium's strategies to elicit positive responses from the client and to manage negative responses.

When the British television documentary program "Everyman: Is There Anybody There?" (BBC1: November 22, 1998) included two consultations by a professional spiritualist medium, the clients expressed unequivocal satisfaction with the performance. After the first consultation, in which a mother and daughter were seeking contact with the mother's deceased husband, both agreed that the medium was "marvelous," "very good," "excellent"; according to the mother, the medium had described her husband "to a T," he was "spot on." After the second consultation, in which a woman was seeking contact with her deceased brother, the client similarly agreed that the medium was very good," adding that he "hit on what I really wanted to hear about my brother."

Assuming that the medium was riot actually channeling information from the clients' deceased relatives in spirit, how do we account for his impressive performance? A client's satisfaction is dependent upon the medium's ability to provide information about the deceased relative. Thus, if a client accepts most of what the medium has said as being true or relevant, he or she will naturally reflect upon the consultation as having provided persuasive evidence that the medium has indeed been channeling information. What this analysis will show, however, is the strategies employed by the medium (consciously or not) to elicit positive responses (affirmations of truth or relevance) from the client, and to manage negative responses (where the truth or relevance of a statement is not affirmed). Some of these strategies will probably be familiar to readers, while others (strategies 4, 6, and 7) become clear through examination of the discourse and context of the reading.

Strategies to Elicit a Positive Response

Strategy 1. Present information that has good odds of being true or relevant to the client.

Examples:

1) I think he would have been a bit hesitant about this sort of work [spiritualism] wouldn't he?

2) Did you actually talk about moving at one stage?

3) Have you had trouble with your back as well?

Although each of these questions received an affirmative response from the client, it might be assumed that: 1) most people would admit to being "a bit hesitant" about contacting the dead; 2) most people have talked about moving at some stage in their lives (particularly after the death of a spouse); and 3) most people have had some trouble with their back--particularly older people, as this client was (in answer to this question, the client replied, "a little bit--yes"). [1]

Strategy 2. Make indefinite references to events, people, or objects, the relevance of which may be substantiated by the client.

Examples:

4) Is there a birthday in the family coming up?

5) I don't know if you could understand that someone would have suffered with cancer?

6) Who's been divorced?

7) He's mentioned a bungalow as well.

In these examples we can see how information that has a good chance of being true or relevant to the client (strategy 1) is combined with indefinite references to events, people, or objects in order to elicit a positive response from the client (all were affirmed as relevant). Thus, for most people there will be a birthday in the family coming up (in the next few days, weeks, or months), just as most people will know of someone who has suffered with cancer, who's been divorced, or lived in a bungalow.

In the following excerpt the medium, having previously established that the relevant link in the spirit world was a gentleman who suffered with cancer, goes on to ask if this is with a "dad connection."

Excerpt 1. Mother and daughter seeking contact with the mother's deceased husband

Medium: So far he says I'm here--is this with--Dad connection?

Daughter: My father.

Medium: And your [to mother] husband.

Mother: My husband--yes.

Medium: Well he says can he send his love to you....

Notice how the daughter responds "my father," thereby substantiating a speculative guess as the mother's husband: the "dad connection" could have applied to the mother's father or the daughter's husband if she had a child.

Strategy 3. Provide banal information, the truth or relevance of which would be acceptable to most people.

Excerpt 2. Mother and daughter seeking contact with the mother's deceased husband

Medium: But he was ill for a period with cancer.

Mother: (Nods head in confirmation)

Daughter: (Nods head in confirmation)

Medium: But he did go quickly at the end didn't he?

Daughter: Yes.

Mother: Yes.

In this excerpt the medium is providing banal information on two counts: 1) all people suffering from cancer are ill for a period (the fact that he had cancer was already established); and 2) irrespective of the period of illness, people do "go quickly at the end."

The following examples provide an illustration of banal statements relating to the mother's physical and psychological state subsequent to the death of her spouse.