Why we get conned and how to avoid it, with Daniel Simons, PhD, and Christopher Chabris, PhD

Speaking of Psychology

Kim Mills

Health & Fitness, Life Sciences, Science, Mental Health

4.3 • 781 Ratings

🗓️ 19 July 2023

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

From Ponzi schemes to e-mail phishing identity thieves, the world can seem full of people who want to deceive us. Daniel Simons, PhD, and Christopher Chabris, PhD, co-authors of the “Nobody’s Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It,” talk about the cognitive habits that put us at risk of believing lies; famous frauds and cons from the worlds of business, science and competitive chess; and what you can do to protect yourself, and your wallet, by spotting scammers before it’s too late. For transcripts, links and more information, please visit the Speaking of Psychology Homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:27.2	From headline grabbing Ponzi schemes to email fishing identity thieves to fake news stories circulating on social media,
0:35.9	it can sometimes seem like the world is full of people who
0:38.8	want to deceive us. What many of these scammers and con artists have in common is that they
0:44.8	take advantage of the patterns of thinking and the mental shortcuts that we all use in our daily
0:49.7	lives. Most of the time, these mental habits serve us well. After all, most people aren't trying to trick us and it would be difficult to go through life skeptical of everything and everyone.
1:01.0	But the same habits of trust and belief that work well most of the time can leave us vulnerable when we encounter a con artist, a false news story, or some other type of deceit.
1:12.6	So what are the cognitive habits that put us at risk of believing lies and falling prey to
1:18.3	scams? Are some people simply more gullible than others, or can anyone be conned?
1:24.3	When you're offered something that sounds like an amazing opportunity, what questions should you ask to figure out if it's too good to be true?
1:32.5	How common is fraud in the worlds of business, science, and elsewhere?
1:37.2	Is technology, including artificial intelligence, making it easier for people to cheat and lie and to get away with it. And what can
1:46.0	we do to protect ourselves and our wallets by spotting scammers before it's too late? Welcome to
1:52.8	Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association that
1:58.0	examines the links between psychological science and everyday life. I'm Kim Mills.
2:06.0	I have two guests today, co-authors of the new book, Nobody's Fool, Why We Get Taken in and
	...

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