Pseudo-Profound Bullshit

Informing participants of the credibility of the source of information could have an impact on the person’s belief after being told the source was either credible or unreliable. Based on the credibility of source theory, people are more likely to be persuaded by a source if they are told it is credible. In 1953, Kelman and Hovland (as cited …) conducted a study denominated “the sleeper effect” which led to the discovery of a source credibility phenomena. They divided participants into 3 groups and gave each group an essay that discussed the effectiveness of atomic submarines. One group was told that the essay came from the Pravda, a soviet newspaper that at the time was an unreliable source. Another group was told that the essay was written

One of which, overlaps with his credibility as the author. Keller conducted his own small social experiment on Twitter, where he used a hash tag to promote a response. The phrase “#TwitterMakesYouStupid. Discuss” elicited a flurry of responses, some of which helped proved his point, but also established his credibility, because he went out on his own to see what the response would be. Keller provides some examples of various responses, many of which played into his overall message, such as “Um, wrong.” and thus supporting this claim (Keller). Interestingly enough, and adding to the argument that “Twitter makes you stupid” is that Keller states that when he received educated responses, they were sent outside of the social media format. By Keller letting his audience know this information, Keller is able to provide solid evidence for his claim: that on Twitter, an educated and meaningful response is not likely to

Deception is most successful when there is a grain of truth blended into the lie. The liar’s perversion of the truth is blinding to many people. Science writer Maria Konnikova notes “We con ourselves as much as [con artists] con us, because we supply the

A recent Pew poll shows there is an increasingly substantial amount of public disagreement about basic scientific facts, facts such as the human though process (Scientific American). People in today’s society believe that studies, for example the Stanley Milgram Experiments, are falsified and irrelevant. In “The Perils of Obedience” Stanley Milgram, an experienced psychologist at Yale, explains how the human mind reacts to commands when placed under extreme stress. However, Diana Baumrind, a clinical and developmental psychologist, disagrees with Milgram in her article “Review of Stanley Milgram 's Experiments on

It is language that makes the bad seem good, the negative appear positive, and the unpleasant appear attractive or at least tolerable”(Lutz 347-348). In his essay, Lutz describes doublespeak as language that obscures the true meaning of the word or phrase. It is meant to mislead or cause misdirection as well as warp reality and dehumanize language. In other words, doublespeak is an embellishment of the truth; meaning you’re lying in a way that appears as if you are expressing true feelings about a certain subject. As a matter of fact, Lutz illustrates that there are multiple types of doublespeak in which we use every day for the sole purpose of misdirection and corruption of the language. The most common kind of doublespeak is euphemism, jargon, bureaucratese and inflated

Denzel Washington, a critically acclaimed actor, had recently and famously stated, “If you don’t read the newspaper then you’re uninformed. If you do read it, then you’re misinformed.” The quote had derived from the recent incident including fake news about Denzel Washington endorsing Donald Trump. Bringing to light the idea of fake, manipulated, or biased information, it’s clear to see Denzel is not the only victim of such actions. Similarly, most

Frankfurt begins his search for the meaning of bullshit by comparing it to the word “humbug,” and referencing the work The Prevalence of Humbug by Max Black. Black gives the definition of humbug: “deceptive misrepresentation, short of lying, especially by pretentious word or deed, of somebody’s own thoughts, feelings, or attitudes.” (118). By examining the definition of a related term, Frankfurt begins his argument

Despite the fact that Trump was underqualified for the presidency, he was still able to receive more electoral votes because the audience was more willing to embrace him as an honorable source despite his inarguable controversy, as well. While Clinton is still highly qualified due to her self-proclaimed 35 years as a politician, the direct and no-nonsense character of Trump outweighed her professional knowledge and experience, while counteracting the deceptive nature that the audience perceived Clinton to maintain. Thus, the two most prominent dimensions of source credibility, competence and character, operate independently and hold the power to “make or break a source’s credibility” (Schwartzman, 2014, p.

In this article, one of the more noticable warning signs of Pseudoscience is the overreliance on anecdotes. One of the trends of pseudoscience is the dependence on evidence

All the above evidences and the fact they come from a respectable institution, enforces robust dependability. Moreover, the procedure and result will, soon, be reviewed by the Psychological Science journal; also, a respectable organization;

While conservatives view Donald Trump as a smart businessman, others love his unfiltered “tell it how it is” persona. Social media gave Trump the platform to say what’s on his mind despite how horrific it may come off. With over four million Facebook followers, Trump leads in social media conversations among incumbents. On, December 9, 2015, Trump was the trending topic on Twitter, (see Figure 1.4 in Appendix A.). What’s so interesting about Trump’s social media popularity is that no matter how harsh and incorrect his statements are, his supporters continue to defend him. Trump’s popularity is a reflection of how many Americans agree with his views and recommendations on governing. His words have even caused the Republican Party to engage in a love-hate relationship with him. His inflammatory words and statements have boosted him in the latest Republican Battleground Tracker polls by 7%. Trump's reputation perceives him as a narcissist, but 40 percent of his supporters in Iowa view him as “the person who says what

Appeal to emotion, has a powerful and negative impact due to the fact that the way it makes you feel has no impact on whether something is true or

Some of the statements were reverse coded. Finally, the participants rated their familiarity with 30 concepts on a 7-point scale, with familiarity ranging from 1 (never heard of the concept) to 7 (knew it very well). 6 of these topics, however, were unreal. This is technique is called the overclaiming technique, which measures both intelligence and the self-enhancement bias (Paulhus et al., 2003). After the experiment, participants were told the aims of the study.

These were the results of the first test. From the second test, the one taken at the end of the course, participants reported disagreement with almost all of the myths. One year on, the third test, the same result. To quote the article directly, “In general, the results of this study demonstrate promise for using the introductory psychology course as a vehicle for correcting myths and misperceptions that are held by a large percentage of the general population.” (Challenging the Status Quo) Their findings are in accordance, it seems, with their

I call it truthful hyperbole. It's an innocent form of exaggeration — and a very effective form of promotion.”