Original article
The Bullshitting Frequency Scale: Development and psychometric properties
Shane Littrell,
Evan F. Risko,
Jonathan A. Fugelsang,
Corresponding Author
Shane Littrell
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Correspondence should be addressed to Shane Littrell, Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada (email: [email protected]).
Search for more papers by this authorEvan F. Risko
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorJonathan A. Fugelsang
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorShane Littrell,
Evan F. Risko,
Jonathan A. Fugelsang,
Corresponding Author
Shane Littrell
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Correspondence should be addressed to Shane Littrell, Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada (email: [email protected]).
Search for more papers by this authorEvan F. Risko
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorJonathan A. Fugelsang
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Recent psychological research has identified important individual differences associated with receptivity to bullshit, which has greatly enhanced our understanding of the processes behind susceptibility to pseudo-profound or otherwise misleading information. However, the bulk of this research attention has focused on cognitive and dispositional factors related to bullshit (the product), while largely overlooking the influences behind bullshitting (the act). Here, we present results from four studies focusing on the construction and validation of a new, reliable scale measuring the frequency with which individuals engage in two types of bullshitting (persuasive and evasive) in everyday situations. Overall, bullshitting frequency was negatively associated with sincerity, honesty, cognitive ability, open-minded cognition, and self-regard. Additionally, the Bullshitting Frequency Scale was found to reliably measure constructs that are (1) distinct from lying and (2) significantly related to performance on overclaiming and social decision tasks. These results represent an important step forward by demonstrating the utility of the Bullshitting Frequency Scale as well as highlighting certain individual differences that may play important roles in the extent to which individuals engage in everyday bullshitting.
Conflicts of interest
All authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open Research
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available on the Center for Open Science: Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/dh6vj/.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| bjso12379-sup-0001-Supinfo.docxWord document, 539.6 KB | Suplinfo Bullshitting Frequency Scale. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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