The Sleeper Effect Is a Persuasive Technique

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In most cases, i just keep giving people facts, and they may change their minds immediately. I think the more we push with facts, the more resistancet that they have. Andtt, the most potent bull shooter that most people are going to ever meet, is themselves. So maybe in some cases, us just not talking about it at all and letting them revise. Because in private, that's actually one of the ways that people often will reduce dissidencs and reduce conformity.

Bullshit is the foundation of contaminated thinking and bad decisions that leads to health consequences, financial losses, legal consequences, broken relationships, and wasted time and resources. No matter how smart we believe ourselves to be, we’re all susceptible to bullshit — and we all engage in it. While we may brush it off as harmless marketing sales speak or as humorous, embellished claims, it’s actually much more dangerous and insidious. It’s how Bernie Madoff successfully swindled billions of dollars from even the most experienced financial experts with his Ponzi scheme. In episode # 207, Michael Shermer speaks with experimental social psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest University, John Petrocelli about his research that examines the causes and consequences of bullshit and bullshitting in the way of better understanding and improving bullshit detection and disposal. Petrocelli provides invaluable strategies not only to recognize and protect yourself from everyday bullshit, but to accept your own lack of knowledge about subjects and avoid engaging in bullshit just for societal conformity.