Spiritualists believe that when people die physically an aspect of the personality or mind survives this and continues to exist on a spirit plane, sometimes referred to as the spirit world. Spiritualists use the word "Spirit" as a plural which describes all minds and entities who have entered into the spirit world. The purpose of the medium is to provide some evidence that a human has survived by describing the person to their surviving relatives. The degree of accuracy with which the deceased are described goes some way to convincing the living relatives and friends that the medium has some contact with the spirit.