Mentalism

Mentalism is a performance genre that creates the impression of extraordinary mental abilities through psychological and theatrical methods. Performers may appear to read thoughts, predict choices, or influence decisions.

Forcing (magic): A method of steering someone toward a choice while preserving the appearance of a free decision. A seemingly free choice can be engineered to match a prediction.
Stage magic: A performing art that presents apparent impossibilities through methods hidden from the audience. Mentalism shares magic’s theatrical structure while centering apparent mental powers.
Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin: A nineteenth-century French magician who helped establish modern conjuring as theatrical entertainment. His performance model helped shape the stage tradition from which mentalism developed.
Psychic: A person claimed to possess extrasensory abilities, such as telepathy or clairvoyance. Mentalists create similar impressions as performance effects without necessarily claiming psychic powers.
Theatrical séance: A staged séance presented as entertainment rather than as a genuine attempt to contact the dead. It applies mentalist methods to the atmosphere and conventions of spiritualist gatherings.
Misdirection: The management of attention so that observers overlook or misinterpret important actions. It helps conceal the methods behind apparently impossible demonstrations.
Suggestion: Communication that influences thoughts, feelings, or actions without requiring direct commands. Suggestive language can shape choices and interpretations during a performance.
Washington Irving Bishop: A nineteenth-century American performer known for demonstrations presented as thought reading. His career brought public attention to alleged mind reading and its possible explanations.
Hypnosis: A state of focused attention and increased responsiveness to suggestion, often induced by a procedure. Hypnosis is sometimes used in performance, but it is distinct from mentalism as a genre.
Stage hypnosis: A theatrical show in which volunteers appear to respond to hypnotic suggestion. It overlaps with mentalism through suggestion, audience participation, and apparent control of behavior.

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