The Social Psychology of Gullibility: Conspiracy Theories, Fake News and Irrational Beliefs

Description

Gullibility, whether we like it or not, is a fundamental characteristic of human beings. In The Social Psychology of Gullibility, Forgas and Baumeister explore what we know about the causes, functions, and consequences of gullibility, and the social psychological processes that promote or inhibit it. With contributions from leading international researchers, the book reveals what social and cognitive psychology contribute to our understanding of how human judgments and decisions can be distorted and undermined. The chapters discuss the nature and functions of gullibility, the role of cognitive processes in gullibility, the influence of emotion and motivation on gullibility, and social and cultural aspects of gullibility. Underpinned by a wealth of empirical research, contributors explore captivating issues such as the psychology of conspiracy theories, the role of political gullibility, gullibility in science, the role of the internet in fostering gullibility, and the failures of reasoning that contribute to human credulity. Gullibility has become a dominant topic of interest in public discourse. The Social Psychology of Gullibility is essential reading for researchers, social science students, professionals and practitioners and all those interested in understanding human credulity and the role of gullibility in contemporary public affairs. Cover......Page 1 Half Title......Page 2 Series Page......Page 3 Title Page......Page 10 Copyright Page......Page 11 Table of Contents......Page 12 List of Contributors......Page 15 Introduction......Page 18 The Functions of Gullibility......Page 22 Psychological Mechanisms of Gullibility......Page 24 Overview of the Volume......Page 30 References......Page 34 PART I: The Nature and Functions of Credulity......Page 36 Chapter 2: The Mask of Love and Sexual Gullibility......Page 38 Love and Irrationality......Page 40 The Mask of Love: Helping Gullibility Along......Page 41 Female Gullibility?......Page 43 Male Gullibility......Page 44 Female Sex Drive as Mask of Love......Page 46 Sexual Economics and Different Understandings......Page 50 Conclusion......Page 52 References......Page 53 Chapter 3: Gullible but Functional? Information Repetition and the Formation of Beliefs......Page 59 Repetition-Induced Truth......Page 60 A History of the Repetition-Induced Truth Effect......Page 61 Why Repetition-Induced Truth May Be Functional......Page 69 Detrimental Effects of Repetition-Induced Truth......Page 72 Is Repetition-Induced Truth Avoidable?......Page 73 References......Page 74 Chapter 4: Belief in Conspiracy Theories: Looking Beyond Gullibility......Page 78 Epistemic Motives......Page 79 Existential Motives......Page 82 Social Motives......Page 84 How Well Do Conspiracy Theories Satisfy Psychological Motives?......Page 86 Summary and Future Directions......Page 87 References......Page 89 Gullibility and Misinformation Writ Large: The U.S. Example......Page 94 Explaining Gullibility and Misinformation......Page 99 Group Polarization......Page 107 Conclusion: Gullibility and Humility......Page 110 References......Page 111 PART II: Cognitive Processes and Gullibility......Page 118 Chapter 6: Towards a Credible Theory of Gullibility......Page 120 The Gullibility Game......Page 121 Epistemology and Induction......Page 122 The Power of the Given Stimulus......Page 124 The Return of the Prior Belief......Page 127 Evidence Checked......Page 129 Gullibility Without a Guller: The Case ofIrrational Trust......Page 130 Notes......Page 132 References......Page 133 Introduction......Page 140 Metacognition Highlights the Individual’s Responsibility......Page 142 Conclusions: Gullibility, Myopia, and Social Responsibility......Page 152 References......Page 153 The Gullible Mind......Page 157 The Condition for Successful Negation......Page 159 Negation as a Primary Process......Page 163 Associations......Page 164 The Underlying Process......Page 166 The Skeptical Mind: Not Being Influenced by Incoming Information......Page 167 Conclusion: The Gullibility of the Mind Is Context-Dependent......Page 170 References......Page 171 Gullibility: Heuristically Generated......Page 176 From Heuristics to Social Influence: Exploiting Gullibility......Page 178 Social Cognition......Page 179 Gullibility from the Perspective of the Reflective Impulsive Model (RIM)......Page 181 Comparisons in Social Settings as a Source of Gullibility......Page 184 Assimilation versus Contrast Explained......Page 185 The Ease of Forming Comparative Judgments......Page 186 Comparative Judgments in the Ultimatum Game......Page 187 Conclusions......Page 190 References......Page 191 PART III: Affective and Motivational Processes and Gullibility......Page 194 Introduction......Page 196 Can Mood Influence Gullibility?......Page 198 Mood Effects on Bullshit Receptivity......Page 199 Mood Effects on the Truth Bias in Believing Urban Myths......Page 201 Mood Effects on Detecting Deception......Page 203 Mood Effects on Eyewitness Gullibility......Page 206 Discussion......Page 208 Acknowledgement......Page 210 References......Page 211 Chapter 11: Gullible or Streetwise: How Does the Self Bias Information Processing?......Page 215 Interpersonal Communication......Page 216 Social Perception......Page 217 Ownership......Page 218 Memory......Page 219 Decision-Making......Page 221 Self-Ownership Effect......Page 223 Culture......Page 225 Conclusion......Page 227 References......Page 229 Chapter 12: Gullible to Ourselves......Page 234 Overbelief in Self......Page 235 Advice......Page 239 Differential Treatment of Self-Thought......Page 243 Managing Our Opinions......Page 245 References......Page 247 Chapter 13: The Smell of Suspicion: How the Nose Curbs Gullibility......Page 251 Smell and Suspicion......Page 252 Fishy Smells Curb Social Cooperation......Page 253 Fishy Smells Curb Gullibility......Page 255 Suspicion Increases Sensitivity to Fishy Smells......Page 260 Perspectives on Gullibility......Page 261 References......Page 265 PART IV: Social and Cultural Aspects of Gullibility......Page 270 Introduction......Page 272 Culture-as-Situated Cognition Theory......Page 273 Cultural Fluency and Disfluency......Page 276 Cultural Fluency Matters for Gullibility: Inherence......Page 278 Cultural Fluency Matters for Gullibility: Reasoning......Page 283 Cultural Fluency Matters for Gullibility: Mindless Consumption......Page 286 Future Directions: Cultural Fluency, Gullibility, and Credulity......Page 288 References......Page 291 Chapter 15: Scientific Gullibility......Page 296 Overview......Page 297 Methods, Statistics, and Their Interpretation......Page 298 The Psychology of Scientific Gullibility......Page 299 Evidence of Scientific Gullibility......Page 304 Reducing Scientific Gullibility......Page 309 Conclusion......Page 313 References......Page 314 An Infamous Case of Gullibility......Page 321 Toward an Operational Definition of Gullibility......Page 322 The Envelope of Legitimacy......Page 326 Empirical Research......Page 329 Conclusion......Page 334 References......Page 335 Chapter 17: Belief in Conspiracy Theories: Gullibility or Rational Skepticism?......Page 336 Belief in Conspiracy Theories......Page 338 Conspiracy Theories and Cognitive Style......Page 343 Discussion and Conclusion......Page 344 Notes......Page 346 References......Page 347 Index......Page 350