47 - David Dunning: The Psychology of Trust and Unwarranted Cynicism

Eric chats with David Dunning, Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, where he directs the Self and Social Insight Lab. The lab studies questions such as how well do people know themselves–and their competence and character? How and when do people successfully engage in self-deception? How good are people as amateur psychologists–trying to anticipate the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others? Most famously, Dave has worked on what is called the Dunning Kruger Effect, where the least competent individuals in a domain tend to be the most overconfident in their skills.

In this episode, Eric chats with Dave about trust. Who do we trust? How accurate are we in assessing another’s trustworthiness? Why do we sometimes trust people we think to be selfish? Why do we distrust people who are actually kind? What does trust have to do with respect? Is our kindness actually driven be negative, not positive emotions? Finally, Dave shares how to find a research idea worth pursuing and gives general advice for young academics curious about a career in psychology.

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Links:

Dave's paper on trust
Dave's paper on respect
Dave's Twitter @daviddunning6

Eric's website
Eric's Twitter @EricNeumannPsy

Podcast Twitter @StanfordPsyPod

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