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Loading... Annals of Gullibility: Why We Get Duped and How to Avoid Itby Stephen Greenspan
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The first book to provide a comprehensive look at the problem of gullibility, this groundbreaking work covers how and why we are fooled in areas that range from religion, politics, science, and medicine, to personal finance and relationships. First laying the groundwork by showing gullibility at play in the writings of historic authors we all know, developmental psychologist Stephen Greenspan follows with chapters that describe social duping across the gamut of human conduct. From people who pour bucks into investment scams, to those who follow the faith of scientologists, believe in fortunetellers, or champion unfounded medicine akin to snake oil, we all know someone who has been duped. A lot of us have been duped ourselves, out of naive trust. It's not a matter of low intelligence that moves us to, without evidence, believe the words of politicians, salesmen, academics, lawyers, military figures, or cult leaders, among others. Greenspan shows us the four broad reasons we become drawn into gullible behavior, and he presents ways people can become less gullible. Greenspan takes us into the vast realm of gullibility from the fictional Pied Piper to the historical Trojan Horse, then through modern-day military maneuvers, political untruths, police and criminal justice scams, and financial and love lies. While there have been earlier books focused on liars and manipulators of all sorts, this is the first to focus on the gullible who are their victims, and how the gullible can become less likely to be taken again. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)155.9Philosophy and Psychology Psychology Developmental And Differential Psychology Environmental psychologyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The majority of Greenspan's book details how gullibility plays out in various spheres of life. He begins by looking at gullible characters in literature and proceeds to offer real world examples of it in religion, war and politics, criminal justice, science and academia, finance and relationships, and vulnerable populations. The stories he relates in these sections—from apocalyptic cult followers to coerced false confessions to art world scams to the Iraq war—are a fascinating and disturbing chronicle of how deception and trust interact and the numerous ways human decision making processes can go terribly awry.
Greenspan raises a number of interesting questions throughout the course of this discussion, including how to find the balance between healthy skepticism and closed-minded cynicism. He also addresses such thorny issues as an individual's right to personal autonomy vs. the responsibilities of others to protect vulnerable populations from exploitation. His comments on these issues with regards to early stage Alzheimer's patients were particularly thought-provoking.
Though many people associate gullibility with low intelligence, the copious examples he gives of very smart people being duped show that tendencies towards gullibility are affected by far more than just intellectual capacity. Greenspan has outlined four elements that can influence whether or not a person will behave in a gullible fashion—the social situation, cognitive processes, type of personality, and physical/emotional state. In the final chapter, he offers some suggestions on how to become less gullible, including practical tips such as avoiding impulsive choices and learning how to disengage from coercive situations. As his own recent investment loss shows, however, sometimes the only way to become less gullible is to learn from past experience. ( )