New psychology research reveals the insidious nature of bullshit

We naturally put our guard up against known liars, but new psychology research reveals we are highly vulnerable to "bullshitters." A recent study shows that repeated, truth-indifferent claims easily trick the human brain into believing false information.

A recent study published in Current Psychology suggests that people are more likely to believe false information when it comes from someone who ignores the truth rather than a liar who actively tries to deceive. The research indicates that repeating statements made by someone indifferent to facts heavily increases how truthful those statements feel to readers. These findings provide evidence that casual disregard for reality poses a uniquely potent threat to public knowledge and belief.

The digital age makes tracking misinformation increasingly difficult. Information often spreads not just through intentional deception, but through a behavior known in psychology as bullshitting. In academic terms, a liar is someone who knows the truth and intentionally tries to mislead an audience.

A bullshitter, on the other hand, communicates with little to no regard for the truth, evidence, or established facts. A statement made by a bullshitter might happen to be true, or it might be false. The defining characteristic is the speaker’s total indifference to reality.

Because bullshitters do not actively try to hide a specific truth, people often judge them less harshly than they judge outright liars. John V. Petrocelli , a psychology professor at Wake Forest University and