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What Makes People So Gullible? - Psychology Today
Who falls for get-rich-quick schemes, psychics, and fake news? And why.
Chances are you know at least one person who has fallen victim to a pyramid or get-rich-quick scheme, earnestly believed a fake news article or conspiracy theory on Facebook or wasted a small fortune seeking regular counsel from their personal psychic.
There is no shortage of these somewhat devastating stories of being duped on the Internet, many of which are documented on Reddit, YouTube, and podcasts—all publicly available for the world to gawk at. Needless to say, I am one of these gawkers.
After all, humans are naturally drawn to the titillating and sensational. Think car wrecks, plane crashes, people being scammed out of their life savings. Women’s Health writer Zahra Barnes attributes this allure to the human instinct. For one, seeing other people’s pain helps reassure us of our own safety. And it also allows us to experience a form of emotional escapism. She compares the exhilaration of hearing about other people’s tragedies to the that of riding a roller coaster:
Who falls for get-rich-quick schemes, psychics, and fake news? And why.
Chances are you know at least one person who has fallen victim to a pyramid or get-rich-quick scheme, earnestly believed a fake news article or conspiracy theory on Facebook or wasted a small fortune seeking regular counsel from their personal psychic.
There is no shortage of these somewhat devastating stories of being duped on the Internet, many of which are documented on Reddit, YouTube, and podcasts—all publicly available for the world to gawk at. Needless to say, I am one of these gawkers.
After all, humans are naturally drawn to the titillating and sensational. Think car wrecks, plane crashes, people being scammed out of their life savings. Women’s Health writer Zahra Barnes attributes this allure to the human instinct. For one, seeing other people’s pain helps reassure us of our own safety. And it also allows us to experience a form of emotional escapism. She compares the exhilaration of hearing about other people’s tragedies to the that of riding a roller coaster: