Psychometry is divination of information about an object or its owner through physical contact or proximity to the object. In mentalism, psychometry effects are performed as demonstrations of intuition or psychic ability, allowing the performer to reveal personal details or events associated with an item. These psychometry performances involve participants providing personal objects such as jewelry, keys, or other belongings, which the mentalist “reads” to uncover information.

The psychometry theme in mentalism performances is framed as a supernatural ability to access impressions or energies stored within objects. In a one-person mentalism act, psychometry methods include marked envelopes or other subtle identification techniques. In a two-person telepathy act — commonly performed by husband-and-wife duos — psychometry is the premise. These two person telepathy psychometry acts rely on coded language as the principal method, enabling the blindfolded performer (typically the wife) to associate each object with its owner and answer questions about the items with apparent psychic insight.