Psychometry (from Greek: ψυχή, ''psukhē'', "spirit, soul" and μέτρον, ''metron'', "measure"), also known as token-object reading,Psychometry
– Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Parapsychological Association (2006-12-17) or psychoscopy, is a form of

extrasensory perception Extrasensory perception or ESP, also called sixth sense, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke Universit ...

characterized by the claimed ability to make relevant associations from an object of unknown history by making physical contact with that object. Zusne, Leonard; Jones, Warren H. (1989). ''Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking''. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. pp. 193–194. Supporters assert that an object may have an energy field that transfers knowledge regarding that object's history. There is no scientific evidence that psychometry exists and the concept has been widely criticized."Psychometry"
The Skeptic's Dictionary.

History

Joseph Rodes Buchanan coined the word "psychometry" (measuring the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

) in 1842. Spence, Lewis ''Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, Part 2'', Kessinger Publishing, LLC (2003)
p. 754
Mark A. Lause (

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

):
Joseph Rodes Buchanan
' (

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

) Buchanan developed the idea that all things give off an emanation.

''The Past is entombed in the Present!'' The world is its own enduring monument; and that which is true of its physical, is likewise true of its mental career. The discoveries of Psychometry will enable us to explore the history of man, as those of geology enable us to explore the history of the earth. There are mental fossils for psychologists as well as mineral fossils for the
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
s; and I believe that hereafter the psychologist and the geologist will go hand in hand — the one portraying the earth, its animals and its vegetation, while the other portrays the human beings who have roamed over its surface in the shadows, and the darkness of primeval barbarism! Aye, the mental telescope is now discovered which may pierce the depths of the past and bring us in full view of the grand and tragic passages of ancient history!

Buchanan asserted that his particular psychism would supersede empiric science. He wrote a comprehensive treatise, ''Manual of Psychometry: the Dawn of a New Civilization'' (1885), detailing how the direct knowledge of psychometry would be applied to and affect the many various branches of science. It also would elevate the various schools of philosophy and arts thereby affecting wide social change and ultimately an enlightenment of humanity:

The
thermometer A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermometer ...
measures caloric ('' thermo'' temperature). The
barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...
measures the
weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity. Some standard textbooks define weight as a vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weight as a scalar qua ...
(''baro'', weight) of the atmosphere; the electrometer measures
electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
conditions; the psychometer measures the soul (''psyche''). In the case of Psychometry, however, the measuring assumes a new character, as the object measured and the measuring instrument are the same psychic element, and its measuring power is not limited to the psychic as it was developed in the first experiments, but has appeared by successive investigation to manifest a wider and wider area of power, until it became apparent that this psychic capacity was really the measure of all things in the Universe.

Buchanan continued to promote psychometry throughout his life and his followers believed that it would revolutionize science in a comprehensive way as "the dawn of a new civilization". Buchanan's work on psychometry was continued by the geologist William Denton (1823–1883). In 1863, Denton published a book on the subject ''The Soul of Things''. Their work was criticized by

Joseph Jastrow Joseph Jastrow (January 30, 1863 – January 8, 1944) was a Polish-born American psychologist, noted for inventions in experimental psychology, design of experiments, and psychophysics. He also worked on the phenomena of optical illusions, a ...

as based on

delusion A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or som ...

and

wishful thinking Wishful thinking is the formation of beliefs based on what might be pleasing to imagine, rather than on evidence, rationality, or reality. It is a product of resolving conflicts between belief and desire. Methodologies to examine wishful thin ...

. Others, such as Stephen Pearl Andrews who promoted Psychometry along with his own new science of Universology, built upon Buchanan's ideas. As a lecturer Andrews asserted that such inquiries, as paraphrased by an 1878 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' article, "demonstrated that the sympathy between the mind and body is an exact science". In the later nineteenth century demonstrations of psychometry became a popular part of stage acts and séances; with participants providing a personal object for "reading" by a

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation * Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium ...

or psychic. It is also commonly offered at psychic fairs as a type of psychic reading. At

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

events psychometry has claimed to help visitors "meet the dearly departed" (a form of

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase ...

Scientific reception

There is no scientific evidence that psychometry exists. Skeptics explain alleged successes of psychometry by cold reading and

confirmation bias Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values. People display this bias when they select information that supports their views, ignoring ...

. Skeptic Robert Todd Carroll describes psychometry as a

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

. The majority of police departments polled do not use psychics and do not consider them credible or useful on cases. Proponents of psychometry have argued that

psychic detective A psychic detective is a person who investigates crimes by using purported paranormal psychic abilities. Examples have included postcognition (the paranormal perception of the past), psychometry (information psychically gained from objects ...

s have been used by law enforcement agencies on specific cases. However, psychologist

Leonard Zusne Leonard Zusne (1924–2003) was an American psychologist. He published articles and books on the history of psychology, magical thinking and visual perception. Zusne worked as a Professor of Psychology at the University of Tulsa. A critic of p ...

has noted that "enquiries with police officials... reveal that the involvement of psychics has not been very helpful, and that second-hand reports of it are often in gross error."

References

External links

Psychometry Experiment
a project that gave residents in Ontario, Canada the opportunity to participate in a psychometry study

– Skeptic's Dictionary {{DEFAULTSORT:Psychometry (Paranormal) Paranormal terminology Pseudoscience Psychic powers Spiritualism Parapsychology New Age practices Magic (supernatural)

History

Scientific reception

See also

References

Further reading

External links