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

Daniel Simons, a psychology professor and head of the Visual Cognition Laboratory, and Christopher Chabris, co-director of the Behavioral Decision Sciences Program, reveal the cognitive traps that lead us to believe lies. They discuss infamous frauds like Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme and a chess con that highlights our vulnerabilities. The duo stresses the importance of skepticism and critical thinking in protecting ourselves from scams, while also exploring how small interventions can lead to significant behavioral changes.

In this episode of the You Are Not So Smart Podcast we discuss attention and interview co-author of "The Invisible Gorilla" Daniel Simons. Also, at the end, we eat an Oreo fudge cookie brownie and discuss the foreign language effect.Patreon: http://patreon.com/youarenotsosmart

Today we welcome Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris to the podcast. Daniel Simons is a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois where he heads the Visual Cognition Laboratory. His research explores the limits of awareness and memory, the reasons why we often are unaware of those limits, and the implications for our personal and professional lives.Christopher Chabris is professor and co-director of the Behavioral and Decision Sciences Program at Geisinger Health System. He is also faculty co-director of Geisinger's Behavioral Insights Team. From 2014 to 2017, he wrote a monthly column called GAME ON for The Wall Street Journal. His essays have been published in several media outlets.Daniel and Christopher met at Harvard University in 1997, where they began to collaborate on research. In 2004 they shared the Ig Nobel Prize in Psychology, awarded for The Invisible Gorilla experiment. Together, they co-authored the New York Times bestselling book of the same name. Their latest book is called Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It.In this episode I talk to Daniel and Christopher about scams and how NOT to get scammed! With enough information and persuasion, anybody can fall for a scheme. According to Daniel and Christopher, certain cognitive biases can make us vulnerable to deception. To help us outsmart con artists, they elaborate the different types of scams and how they work, all the while giving us tools to navigate shady situations. Website: dansimons.com & chabris.comTwitter: @profsimons & @cfchabris Topics03:20 Nobody’s Fool07:54 Using AI for deception10:13 The truth bias12:42 Fixed belief bias16:40 The possibility grid22:27 Scamming through social media24:21 The Nigerian email scam27:19 Scam baiting29:01 Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme 35:16 Are mediums scammers?36:47 Why do people ignore red flags?38:59 The Tinder Swindler and romance scams44:05 Highly successful people get scammed too47:17 When to be skeptical54:37 Accept less, check moreSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Daniel Simons discusses cognitive psychology behind deception, truth bias, cognitive tendencies, and deception tactics. He explores how focus, prediction, commitment, and deficiency make us susceptible to scams. The episode emphasizes critical thinking, questioning assumptions, and staying vigilant against manipulation tactics.