Eli5: Why is it easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled?

Question

Eli5: Why is it easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled?

In: 634

Answer 1

I think it has to do with people’s pride about being smart, but also with a combination of the anchoring effect (the first information you hear about something has more weight in your decision making and you use it as a reference for all new information) and the sunk cost fallacy (you have already invested a lot in something, so you don’t want to abandon it. In reality the time or money you’ve invested in something isn’t coming back so you shouldn’t really consider it in future decision making).

Answer 2

I think it has to do with people’s pride about being smart, but also with a combination of the anchoring effect (the first information you hear about something has more weight in your decision making and you use it as a reference for all new information) and the sunk cost fallacy (you have already invested a lot in something, so you don’t want to abandon it. In reality the time or money you’ve invested in something isn’t coming back so you shouldn’t really consider it in future decision making).