title: Investigating the fit and accuracy of alleged mediumistic writing: a case study of Chico Xavier's letters.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The study of mediumship is important because if mediumistic abilities were real, they would provide empirical support for non-reductionist theories of the mind, thus having major implications to our understanding of the mind-brain relationship. This study investigated the alleged mediumship of Chico Xavier, a very prolific and influential "medium" in Brazil.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the accuracy of the information conveyed in Xavier's "psychographed" letters (i.e., letters allegedly authored by a deceased personality) and to explore the possible explanations for it.
  
  
  METHODS
  After a systematic search for Xavier's psychographed letters, we selected one set of 13 letters allegedly written by a same spiritual author (J.P.). The letters were initially screened for the identification of items of information that were objectively verifiable. The accuracy of the information conveyed by these items and the estimated likelihood of the Xavier's access to the information via ordinary means were rated using Fit and Leak scales based on documents and interviews carried out with the sister and friends of J.P.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 99 items of verifiable information conveyed in these 13 letters; 98% of these items were rated as "Clear and Precise Fit" and no item was rated as "no Fit." We concluded that ordinary explanations for accuracy of the information (i.e., fraud, chance, information leakage, and cold reading) were only remotely plausible. These results seem to provide empirical support for non-reductionist theories of consciousness.
authors.affiliation: NUPES-Research Center in Spirituality and Health, School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora, Brazil; PROSER, Institute of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: alecaroli@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Alexandre Caroli
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: NUPES-Research Center in Spirituality and Health, School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora, Brazil; PROSER, Institute of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Paraná
authors.affiliation: School of Education, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Elizabeth Schmitt
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Freire
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lotufo Neto
authors.affiliation: NUPES-Research Center in Spirituality and Health, School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moreira-Almeida
mesh_terms: D001601:Bereavement; D001938:Brazil; D003142:Communication; D003243:Consciousness; D015709:Correspondence as Topic; D006801:Humans; D019222:Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical; D014956:Writing
keywords: Mediumship; bereavement; consciousness; mind–brain relationship; spirituality; survival