Allison DuBois
Encyclopedia
Allison DuBois is an American author and medium
. DuBois has controversially claimed to possess psychic abilities and use them to help U.S. law enforcement officials solve crimes, which formed the basis of the TV series Medium
.
Her alleged powers as a medium were tested by Gary Schwartz
of the University of Arizona
. While Schwartz claims that his research supports DuBois' psychic abilities, skeptics
are quick to point out the flaws in both Allison's claims and Schwartz's research. Some of her claims regarding work done in high profile investigations, such as her description of the Baseline rapist, have been shown to be either incorrect or of little investigative value.page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 Communicating with the dead and extrasensory perception are considered to be pseudoscience
as there is no credible evidence to back up such claims.
, Arizona
, and graduated from Corona del Sol High School
in Tempe
in 1990. In college, she worked as an intern at the district attorney
's office in Phoenix. She received her B.A. in political science
with a minor in history from Arizona State University
.
and the Glendale, Arizona
police department, and that she used these abilities as a jury consultant. These law enforcement agencies have since either denied any such cooperation happened or stated the tips provided by Dubois were not helpful.
According to the TV Guide
, Allison DuBois spent four years participating in various tests at the University of Arizona to assist with their studies of mediums and psychic phenomena. Gary Schwartz, Director of The VERITAS Research Project, claims that DuBois has psychic abilities, arguing in the March 6, 2005 TV Guide, "Anyone who's looked closely at the evidence can't help but come to the conclusion that there is something very real going on here." At their first meeting, Schwartz says DuBois accurately described a friend of Schwartz's who had just died. Impressed, Schwartz conducted a series of interviews, including one in which DuBois stated she contacted the late husband of a woman in England, knowing only the woman's name. The woman, after reading a transcript of the session, affirmed that 80% of what DuBois said was accurate. Schwartz published his research in a book titled The Truth About Medium. According to a statement by DuBois, she does not endorse the book or Schwartz.
drama
Medium, which aired from 2005 until 2011 on NBC and CBS is based on Allison DuBois's book, Don't Kiss Them Good-Bye. The show was created by Glenn Gordon Caron
, creator of Moonlighting
and other television shows, who is also one of the writers for the series. It is produced by CBS Television Studios (having acquired the TV production arm of original producer Paramount Pictures
) and Grammnet, the production company owned by Cheers
and Frasier
alumnus Kelsey Grammer
. Patricia Arquette
was cast to play the role of DuBois, at the suggestion of Caron's girlfriend. DuBois stated in the January 9, 2005 TV Guide that she initially thought Arquette was too liberal
to play her, remarking, "I mean, I have a gun
, I have put people on death row
. I wanted to make sure that was something that didn't bother her. But she assured me that she believed some people may have that coming."
"Every episode is not a biography of my life, it is simply based on my life experiences. It is an accurate portrayal of my life and the people who share it with a little Hollywood magic thrown in," DuBois has said. She does state in both her book and in the January 3, 2005 edition of Sci Fi Weekly that the program closely resembles the truth of her own life. Several details of Arquette's character match DuBois's life, such as the name of her husband on the show (Joe) and the fact that he is an aerospace
engineer. Both the character and the real-life Dubois have three daughters, and the first case the character "consults" on in the show's pilot is with the Texas Rangers, the law enforcement agency with whom the real-life DuBois alleges she first worked.
and Dr. Ray Hyman
say that DuBois does not have psychic powers. Ray Hyman of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), questions the scientific integrity of Schwartz's approach to such psychic phenomena, in papers written for the organization. Schwartz has responded by explaining that there were logical errors in Hyman's and other published criticisms of his work. Schwartz's experimental methodology is available for public analysis in papers uploaded to his web site.
Skeptic James Randi
says that people such as DuBois give the appearance of psychic powers through cold reading
techniques. For example, DuBois, when doing her first reading of Schwartz, told him that his deceased friend was telling her, "I don't walk alone," which Schwartz understood to be a reference to his friend's confinement to a wheelchair, which DuBois could not have known about. Randi says that Schwartz leapt to an unsupportable conclusion, since the notion of "not walking alone" can mean any number of things, and "certainly does not describe being in a wheelchair." Randi also asserts that experiments that allegedly yield positive results of psychic powers, such as the ones done with DuBois, are not conducted using proper scientific control
s. In light of Schwartz's assertion that "some" of his experiments with DuBois were performed under such conditions, Randi questions why the rest of them were not, and points to a report demonstrating that a few of Schwartz's experiments were not performed according to standard scientific protocol. Dr. Schwartz's point-by-point response to Randi's criticisms were published in 2005.
In 2005 Randi offered to have DuBois tested for his One Million Dollar Challenge. According to Randi, DuBois declined his invitation to the challenge. In 2011 the JREF again issued the million dollar challenge to James Van Praagh
, Allison DuBois, Sylvia Browne
, Carla Baron, John Edward
, and others if they can prove their abilities in controlled experiments." through ABC News
, Time.com and AOL News. Ben Radford with CSICOP quotes Magician James Randi
who challenges "James Van Praagh and Allison DuBois [whom] have turned the huckster art of ‘cold reading' into a multi-million-dollar industry, preying on families' deepest fears and regrets,” he says in a statement announcing the challenge. “They should be embarrassed by the transparent performances.”
Former FBI profiler, behavioral science expert and MSNBC
analyst Clint Van Zandt challenges statements about psychics helping law enforcement arguing, "If psychics were truly successful and if their results were not simply the consequence of trickery (at worse [sic]) or good interviewing skills (at best), then why don't law enforcement agencies have psychic detective squads, a real X-Files Unit, or other ways to integrate these paranormal investigative capabilities?"
.
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
. DuBois has controversially claimed to possess psychic abilities and use them to help U.S. law enforcement officials solve crimes, which formed the basis of the TV series Medium
Medium (TV series)
Medium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
.
Her alleged powers as a medium were tested by Gary Schwartz
Gary Schwartz
Gary E. Schwartz, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona best known for controversial experiments with mediums.-Biography:...
of the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
. While Schwartz claims that his research supports DuBois' psychic abilities, skeptics
Scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...
are quick to point out the flaws in both Allison's claims and Schwartz's research. Some of her claims regarding work done in high profile investigations, such as her description of the Baseline rapist, have been shown to be either incorrect or of little investigative value.page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 Communicating with the dead and extrasensory perception are considered to be pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
as there is no credible evidence to back up such claims.
Early life
DuBois was born in PhoenixPhoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and graduated from Corona del Sol High School
Corona Del Sol High School
Corona del Sol High School located in Tempe, Arizona, United States, was established in 1977 and is a part of the Tempe Union High School District. It was expanded in 1986. It was expanded again in 2001.-Campus:...
in Tempe
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
in 1990. In college, she worked as an intern at the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
's office in Phoenix. She received her B.A. in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
with a minor in history from Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
.
Career
DuBois refers to herself as a medium and profiler, rather than a psychic, because of the negative connotation she feels is associated with the term psychic. She claims that she became aware that she had the ability to communicate with departed souls when she was 6 years old. DuBois claims she uses this ability to connect deceased loved ones to the living, and also to help law enforcement agencies solve crimes, such as the Texas RangersTexas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
and the Glendale, Arizona
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
police department, and that she used these abilities as a jury consultant. These law enforcement agencies have since either denied any such cooperation happened or stated the tips provided by Dubois were not helpful.
According to the TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, Allison DuBois spent four years participating in various tests at the University of Arizona to assist with their studies of mediums and psychic phenomena. Gary Schwartz, Director of The VERITAS Research Project, claims that DuBois has psychic abilities, arguing in the March 6, 2005 TV Guide, "Anyone who's looked closely at the evidence can't help but come to the conclusion that there is something very real going on here." At their first meeting, Schwartz says DuBois accurately described a friend of Schwartz's who had just died. Impressed, Schwartz conducted a series of interviews, including one in which DuBois stated she contacted the late husband of a woman in England, knowing only the woman's name. The woman, after reading a transcript of the session, affirmed that 80% of what DuBois said was accurate. Schwartz published his research in a book titled The Truth About Medium. According to a statement by DuBois, she does not endorse the book or Schwartz.
Medium
The televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
Medium, which aired from 2005 until 2011 on NBC and CBS is based on Allison DuBois's book, Don't Kiss Them Good-Bye. The show was created by Glenn Gordon Caron
Glenn Gordon Caron
Glenn Gordon Caron is an American television writer, director and producer. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.-Bio:...
, creator of Moonlighting
Moonlighting (TV series)
Moonlighting is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 3, 1985, to May 14, 1989. The network aired a total of 66 episodes...
and other television shows, who is also one of the writers for the series. It is produced by CBS Television Studios (having acquired the TV production arm of original producer Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
) and Grammnet, the production company owned by Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
and Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
alumnus Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
. Patricia Arquette
Patricia Arquette
Patricia T. Arquette is an American actress and director. She played the lead character in the supernatural drama series Medium for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series....
was cast to play the role of DuBois, at the suggestion of Caron's girlfriend. DuBois stated in the January 9, 2005 TV Guide that she initially thought Arquette was too liberal
Liberalism in the United States
Liberalism in the United States is a broad political philosophy centered on the unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion for all belief systems, and the separation of church and state, right to due process...
to play her, remarking, "I mean, I have a gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
, I have put people on death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
. I wanted to make sure that was something that didn't bother her. But she assured me that she believed some people may have that coming."
"Every episode is not a biography of my life, it is simply based on my life experiences. It is an accurate portrayal of my life and the people who share it with a little Hollywood magic thrown in," DuBois has said. She does state in both her book and in the January 3, 2005 edition of Sci Fi Weekly that the program closely resembles the truth of her own life. Several details of Arquette's character match DuBois's life, such as the name of her husband on the show (Joe) and the fact that he is an aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
engineer. Both the character and the real-life Dubois have three daughters, and the first case the character "consults" on in the show's pilot is with the Texas Rangers, the law enforcement agency with whom the real-life DuBois alleges she first worked.
Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills
Allison appeared on the episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills titled "The Dinner Party From Hell". She quickly became intoxicated and exchanged insults with several of the guests while smoking an electric cigarette.Criticism
Skeptics such as Dr. Paul KurtzPaul Kurtz
Paul Kurtz is a prominent American skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism." He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for...
and Dr. Ray Hyman
Ray Hyman
Ray Hyman is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and a noted critic of parapsychology.-Career:...
say that DuBois does not have psychic powers. Ray Hyman of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), questions the scientific integrity of Schwartz's approach to such psychic phenomena, in papers written for the organization. Schwartz has responded by explaining that there were logical errors in Hyman's and other published criticisms of his work. Schwartz's experimental methodology is available for public analysis in papers uploaded to his web site.
Skeptic James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
says that people such as DuBois give the appearance of psychic powers through cold reading
Cold reading
Cold reading is a series of techniques used by mentalists, psychics, fortune-tellers, illusionists, and con artists to determine or express details about another person, often in order to convince them that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do...
techniques. For example, DuBois, when doing her first reading of Schwartz, told him that his deceased friend was telling her, "I don't walk alone," which Schwartz understood to be a reference to his friend's confinement to a wheelchair, which DuBois could not have known about. Randi says that Schwartz leapt to an unsupportable conclusion, since the notion of "not walking alone" can mean any number of things, and "certainly does not describe being in a wheelchair." Randi also asserts that experiments that allegedly yield positive results of psychic powers, such as the ones done with DuBois, are not conducted using proper scientific control
Scientific control
Scientific control allows for comparisons of concepts. It is a part of the scientific method. Scientific control is often used in discussion of natural experiments. For instance, during drug testing, scientists will try to control two groups to keep them as identical and normal as possible, then...
s. In light of Schwartz's assertion that "some" of his experiments with DuBois were performed under such conditions, Randi questions why the rest of them were not, and points to a report demonstrating that a few of Schwartz's experiments were not performed according to standard scientific protocol. Dr. Schwartz's point-by-point response to Randi's criticisms were published in 2005.
In 2005 Randi offered to have DuBois tested for his One Million Dollar Challenge. According to Randi, DuBois declined his invitation to the challenge. In 2011 the JREF again issued the million dollar challenge to James Van Praagh
James Van Praagh
James Van Praagh is a self-proclaimed medium who has written several books on spirituality and spirit communication.-Early life and career:Van Praagh was born in Bayside, New York and is the youngest of four children...
, Allison DuBois, Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne is an American author who describes herself as a psychic and spiritual medium...
, Carla Baron, John Edward
John Edward
John Edward McGee, Jr. is an American television personality and professional psychic medium. He is best known for his TV shows Crossing Over with John Edward and John Edward Cross Country....
, and others if they can prove their abilities in controlled experiments." through ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, Time.com and AOL News. Ben Radford with CSICOP quotes Magician James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
who challenges "James Van Praagh and Allison DuBois [whom] have turned the huckster art of ‘cold reading' into a multi-million-dollar industry, preying on families' deepest fears and regrets,” he says in a statement announcing the challenge. “They should be embarrassed by the transparent performances.”
Former FBI profiler, behavioral science expert and MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
analyst Clint Van Zandt challenges statements about psychics helping law enforcement arguing, "If psychics were truly successful and if their results were not simply the consequence of trickery (at worse [sic]) or good interviewing skills (at best), then why don't law enforcement agencies have psychic detective squads, a real X-Files Unit, or other ways to integrate these paranormal investigative capabilities?"
Personal life
DuBois' parents, Mike Gomez and Tienna DuBois, divorced when she was a baby. Tienna remarried and divorced again when Allison was 12. In her first book, DuBois writes about seeing her stepdad in public with his new family. Allison is married to Joe DuBois and they have three daughters: Aurora, the oldest, Fallon, and Sophia. DuBois believes that her daughters share her psychic abilities.Books
Allison DuBois is the author of three books dealing with mediumshipMediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
.
- Don't Kiss Them Goodbye. Fireside (2005) ISBN 0-7432-8228-0
- We Are Their Heaven: Why the Dead Never Leave Us. Fireside (2006) ISBN 0-7432-9113-1
- Secrets of the Monarch: How the Dead Can Teach Us About Living a Better Life.