Politically motivated bullshit receptivity: Ideology, epistemology, and receptivity to pseudo-profound bullshit across domains

Abstract

Two studies investigated the relationship between political ideology and receptivity to pseudo-profound bullshit (i.e., obscure sentences constructed to impress others rather than convey truth) in the New Age, financial, corporate, postmodern, and ideological domains, among Swedish adults (N = 150; N = 986, preregistered). Social conservative but not economic right-wing values showed robust associations with higher receptivity across types of bullshit, mediated particularly by subjectivist, dichotomous, non-active open-minded, analytical, and apophenic thinking. Social conservative and progressive values, and preference particularly for far left and right parties, were associated with receptivity to ideologically congenial bullshit. Populism and antidemocratic attitudes (which occur on the far left and right) predicted bullshit receptivity across domains, but partisanship did not. Distance from the center on political values even predicted lower bullshit receptivity in some cases. These results demonstrate ideological asymmetries and symmetries, with distinct underpinnings, and extremism and centrism effects.