The researchers found that people who frequently engage in "persuasive bullshitting" were actually quite poor at identifying it. Specifically, they had trouble distinguishing intentionally profound or scientifically accurate fact from impressive but meaningless fiction. Importantly, these frequent BSers are also much more likely to fall for fake news headlines.
Shane Littrell, lead author of the paper and cognitive psychology Ph.D. candidate at Waterloo, stated:
"It probably seems intuitive to believe that you can't bullshit a bullshitter, but our research suggests that this isn't actually the case. In fact, it appears that the biggest purveyors of persuasive bullshit are ironically some of the ones most likely to fall for it."The researchers define "bullshit" as information designed to impress, persuade, or otherwise mislead people that is often constructed without concern for the truth. They also identify two types of bullshitting — persuasive and evasive. "Persuasive" uses misleading exaggerations and embellishments to impress, persuade, or fit in with others, while 'evasive' involves giving irrelevant, evasive responses in situations where frankness might result in hurt feelings or reputational harm.
In a series of studies conducted with over 800 participants from the US and Canada, the researchers examined the relations between participants' self-reported engagement in both types of BSing and their ratings of how profound, truthful, or accurate they found pseudo-profound and pseudo-scientific statements and fake news headlines. Participants also completed measures of cognitive ability, metacognitive insight, intellectual overconfidence, and reflective thinking.
"We found that the more frequently someone engages in persuasive bullshitting, the more likely they are to be duped by various types of misleading information regardless of their cognitive ability, engagement in reflective thinking, or metacognitive skills. Persuasive BSers seem to mistake superficial profoundness for actual profoundness. So, if something simply sounds profound, truthful, or accurate to them that means it really is. But evasive bullshitters were much better at making this distinction."The research may help shed light on the processes underlying the spread of some types of misinformation, which could have important implications for the fight against this growing problem.
The study, "You can't bullshit a bullshitter (or can you?): Bullshitting frequency predicts receptivity to various types of misleading information," authored by Littrell and Waterloo's Faculty of Arts professors Evan Risko and Jonathan Fugelsang, appears in the British Journal of Social Psychology.
Reader Comments
Beat me to it. Wtf
R.C.
*But then again, maybe I'm thinking of my former criminal clients. I admit that I do like to think of myself as not a dumb cookie, but when I think of the times I've been fooled, well . .
Hmm.
RC
A problem differentiating reality and wishful-thinking-dreamworld plays out on each end...
Note the article mentions some of the BS'ers don't seem able to discern the difference in solid rational explanations vs BS or high-sounding word salad - at least not well.
Take it a step further - budding potential BS'ers hear impressive speaking from important people (or at least self-important people) and even though they don't fully understand what they're hearing - (or at least understanding is poor enough they can't tell truth from BS) -- These great speakers they're hearing set a glowing example for looking important and moving easily through society.
So they (early BS'ers) train themselves to produce just that kind of important sounding speaking.
Even to me that sounds like a pretty strained logic chain, but my experiences in listening to people that tend to BS as a matter of course lead me to think it's true. At least in some people. Their BS talking is all about sounding important and knowledgeable while influencing those around them.
How that interfaces with their position on the scale of psychopathy I don't know. There's an apparent total lack of concern for telling lies to others, yet often enough it doesn't seem to be done with ill will or bad intentions, it's simply a social skill they've observed and copied almost flawlessly. Of course it often causes much trouble and pain regardless of whether intentions are good or ill.
Dunno if that makes sense, but I'd swear I can almost visibly see it playing out while I'm listening to their lies.
When two bullshitters get together, truth flows out the window, and it denigrates into power and ego, sometimes violence.
Seems to me this is is exactly what is happening at this time. And the question is who will be the better bullshitter, and more importantly, is it believable?
Timothy 3:13 (KJV) But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.