What about deep, non-superficial thinkers?
Answer Quickly to Be Believed – Pausing Before Replying Decreases Perceived Sincerity:
When people pause before replying to a question, even for just a few seconds, their answers are perceived to be less sincere and credible than if they had replied immediately, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
And the longer the hesitation, the less sincere the response appears.
"Evaluating other people's sincerity is a ubiquitous and important part of social interactions," said lead author Ignazio Ziano, PhD, of Grenoble Ecole de Management. "Our research shows that response speed is an important cue on which people base their sincerity inferences."
The research was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Researchers conducted a series of experiments involving more than 7,500 individuals from the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Participants either listened to an audio snippet, viewed a video or read an account of a person responding to a simple question (e.g., did they like a cake a friend made or had they stolen money from work). In each scenario, the response time varied from immediate to a 10-second delay. Participants then rated the sincerity of the response on a sliding scale.
Across all 14 experiments, participants consistently rated delayed responses as less sincere regardless of the question, whether it was a harmless one about cake or a more serious one about committing a crime.
[...] The findings have wide implications, according to Ziano. "Whenever people are interacting, they are judging each other's sincerity. These results can be applied to a wide range of interactions, going from workplace chit-chat to couples and friends bickering," he said. "Further, in job interviews and in court hearings and trials, people are often tasked with judgments of sincerity. Here, too, response speed could play a part."
[...] The final experiment found that explicitly instructing participants to ignore delayed response reduced, but did not completely remove, the effect of delayed response on judgment of sincerity or guilt.
"Nevertheless, our research shows that, on the whole, a fast response seems to be perceived as more sincere, while a response that is delayed for even a couple of seconds may be considered a slow lie," said Ziano.
Journal Reference:
Ignazio Ziano, Deming WangSlow lies: Response delays promote perceptions of insincerity - PubMed, Journal of personality and social psychology (DOI: DOI: 10.1037/pspa0000250)
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @10:25AM
they have a new thing to talk about while they're getting paid.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @10:39AM (1 child)
oh, no....
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @12:51PM
I don't believe you.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Friday February 26 2021, @10:51AM (8 children)
The truth is often all too evident. You don't have to think about all the ways your lie may backfire.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @11:08AM
But shouldn't you prove things first? Well, maybe your taste is fast.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @11:14AM (1 child)
The problem with the good liars is they don't care and can come up with a new one for next time.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @12:30PM
... and if you're not a good liar, the way to become one is to plan ahead, try to anticipate those embarrassing questions and situations!(grin)
Here's some to practice:
https://magazine.northeast.aaa.com/daily/life/cars-trucks/the-top-speeding-ticket-excuses/ [aaa.com]
(Score: 2) by r_a_trip on Friday February 26 2021, @11:50AM (1 child)
If the truth is all too evident, you need not ask the question in the first place. A good liar will have fabricated the story beforehand and mixed it in with enough truth to make it seem plausible.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @12:54PM
Well, that's what they tell you.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Friday February 26 2021, @09:37PM (1 child)
Answer time depends on a lot of elements, and while the answer to the question "what did you have for breakfast this morning" requires very little mental resources, answers to other questions may take significant processing.
I'm not surprised however that people would fall for a fast wrong answer and look askance at a methodical accurate answer. I suspect a large part false convictions comes from people assuming "If X happens (or is asked), a person will definitely positively invariable react in Y manner" when the truth about human response is never so shallow. Personally, I find that I close my eyes when discussing things (*). I've had to work very hard at overcoming that tendency because I know people think it's a sign of untruthfulness even though the reality is that it is a sign I'm taking the question seriously and doing my best to answer correctly. The irony is that I waste a certain number of brain cycles simply self-monitoring which impairs the answering part.
(*) If I tray to backport a reason, I'd guess that the reduction in visual clutter makes thinking easier, but the eye closing thing was something I never thought about until it was pointed out to me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 10 2021, @07:13AM
re: closing your eyes, this isn't common in folks along the Autism spectrum. There are other hypersensitivities that are also common (headlights, sharp noises, etc). Anyways, you're not at all alone in that behaviour. Did you have any developmental delays, especially in socialization? This (closing eyes when talking) also shows up noticeably in kids who had socialization challenges in the grade school years.
It also shows up commonly in victims of abuse when discussing trauma-adjacent topics, but that's clearly not what you're referring to.
Anyways, don't worry about it, or if it bugs you, make a habit of snapping your eyes open when you notice it. You're evidently high-functioning and can self train without any fancy CBT tricks beyond closing the notice/react feedback loop.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 27 2021, @03:13AM
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @11:19AM (3 children)
be sincere and wrong
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday February 26 2021, @02:15PM
Frosty piss comes from the heart.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Immerman on Friday February 26 2021, @04:40PM (1 child)
Seems like that creates a Dunning-Kruger halo effect - not only does the idiot think they're a lot smarter than they really are, but so long as they can fire off some B.S. answer that sounds plausible, the people around them are more likely to believe them than the actual smart person who has to consider the question to arrive at a real answer, and/or figure out how to dumb it down to the level of the audience.
Explains a lot about why fast-talking politicians with who lie constantly manage to keep their jobs.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 27 2021, @12:42PM
Trump? In the past, you had to actually have some strategy but Trump just one lie after another. And yet so many idiots voted for him.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @12:00PM (15 children)
Looking at the origin of the test subjects, I wouldn't think this applies universally.
Living in Japan and seeing my Japanese colleagues react slowly to questions in Japanese (so no language barrier), I'm sure several cultures may interpret fast answers to be without serious thought given to the question.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @12:10PM (5 children)
> Participants either listened to an audio snippet, viewed a video or read an account of a person responding to a simple question (e.g., did they like a cake a friend made or had they stolen money from work).
For the study, they chose simple questions that don't require serious thought. Logically the only reason to think about the answer before answering is if you don't want to answer completely truthfully (e.g. "how do I tell my friend that I did not like the cake without making them upset"). No wonder that slow answers were perceived as less sincere. I think it is a pretty big leap to assume that this is universally true for all kinds questions.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by HiThere on Friday February 26 2021, @03:18PM (1 child)
There's also the difference between sincerity and truthfulness. I can easily accept that a fast answer implies sincerity, but for many questions that's a lot different from truthfulness. Sincerity can measure things like "How do you feel about...?" and "Do you believe ...?", but that's different from an assertion of reality.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 27 2021, @03:21AM
I tend to tell people exactly what I think immediately when they’re bullshitting me. After decades of dealing with assholes and liars online, my baloney meter is on a hair trigger. In a world where information is at our fingertips, it’s insulting to have someone think you’re stupid enough to believe bullshit.
And don’t try to say I’m over-reacting. You intentionally lied to me, so fuck you, boss man.
Happened again last Monday, I’ve told everyone I’m leaving in 3 months max. Until then I’ll help others on the job, but don’t you even try to talk to me, asswipe.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Friday February 26 2021, @10:28PM (2 children)
Logically, the only reason to not think about the answer is if you're going by muscle memory and spouting some "ass kissing" bullshit.
"Did you like the cake?" "Oh of course dear, it was amazing" blah blah
That's the height of insincerity. Not that there's anything wrong with it, keeping social relationships positive is important. But I hate it; I would rather get your real thoughts.
Even a "simple" but actually sincere answer requires some thought:
"Yes, it had just the right amount of sweetness. The texture is light and fluffy, and it has a lot of cream, my favorite."
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 27 2021, @03:47AM
Logically, if you’re kissing ass from muscle memory, you’ve obviously had too much practice kissing ass. Your mouth probably looks like a puckered anus.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by FatPhil on Saturday February 27 2021, @09:51AM
Whatever culture has he preference described in the article is probably, and hopefully, doomed - as it's incentivising and encouraging psychopathy, bullshit, and insincerity (and robot interactions rather than human ones).
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 5, Insightful) by canopic jug on Friday February 26 2021, @12:39PM
That is probably a big confound in the experiment if all the participants were selected from cutlures where fast-talking is considered important. Other cultures perceive people as fools if they speak to quickly or take to little time formulating an answer to a question.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @12:56PM (4 children)
Now try the experiment again, but over a Zoom or phone line that has some significant lag. Everyone's timing is off, people talk over each other and get frustrated if they don't understand the problem. Worst could be when just one person on a group call is at the end of a laggy connection?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @01:00PM (1 child)
I'm not a cat. :(
(Score: 1) by anubi on Saturday February 27 2021, @12:43AM
You can be one too! ...
Just adjust your filters.
( Private joke... Its on Youtube:
Lawyer, zoom, cat filter) )
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Friday February 26 2021, @01:57PM (1 child)
That actually reminds me of when TV news switched to digital signals for all of their in field "live reports". (or worse yet, when iPhones first came out and they found any excuse they could to advertise by doing their report over a crappy iPhone video rather than a real camera)
Back when they used analog and relayed the signal back over airwaves, there was virtually no visible delay.
These days it almost always goes like this:
"And now we go to our reporter, Steve, who is live in the field." [camera switches to a reporter staring at the camera]
...
... [nods]
... [nods again]
...
"Thats right, Tom, I'm where this horrific shooting took place this morning..."
Not that I have ever believed anything the news has to report.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 27 2021, @03:51AM
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @12:57PM
I know for a fact that listening to my wife I just want the noise to stop. Asking a question is just inviting a cascade of word vomit, starting even before I reach the question mark. So no, I don't really consider fast answers more reliable. Just make it stop.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @01:07PM
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/02/speaking-fast-and-slow/459393/ [theatlantic.com]
tl;dr -- look at the link, there are color maps of USA states showing talking-speed, wordiness and impatience.
Various other features were studied, article ends with this little gem,
(Score: 3, Interesting) by PiMuNu on Friday February 26 2021, @01:27PM
My Japanese colleague tells me that he is always a little disappointed in how quickly I am to answer questions. He is the one who tends to speak seldom, but when he does speak he is _correct_. People listen to him.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 26 2021, @01:56PM (3 children)
The person who starts talking even before the question is posed is a shallow idiot. People want instant gratification, that shallow idiot has figured that out, so he starts talking immediately. Even when he has no idea what the problem is, he'll jump in with some meaningless nonsense, to preclude even a moment's silence.
We're back at that old adage, "People get the leadership they deserve."
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @02:08PM (1 child)
The projection is strong in this one.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @02:20PM
So, stop projecting, you silver tongued devil.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 27 2021, @03:31AM
Or they’re the first to answer on Family Feud Sudden Death Only One Answer Shown.
Or it’s a meeting and someone came late and is asking a question that was already answered.
Or it’s their kid and you already told them “no you can’t have dessert without eating your supper” 10 times already.’
Or it’s easy to anticipate the rest of the question, especially if they stutter.
I can go on … but I won’t.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @02:50PM (4 children)
If the question looks like it merits serious thought, and someone pauses to think before replying, I consider that a greater sign of honesty than a glib response. Maybe it's not seen as being as ASSERTIVE, though. Picard versus Kirk.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @02:57PM (3 children)
Does this outfit make me look fat?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @03:03PM
You know that is not a serious question. That is a female request for sympathy and validation. NEVER MISTAKE IT FOR A QUESTION.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 27 2021, @03:39AM
“No Harry - you’ really are fat! Leave my clothes alone!, FFS!”
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 27 2021, @08:09AM
The answer to that is always "No"
Case 1. You don't look fat.
Case 2. You look fat. It is because you are fat not because of the outfit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @06:30PM (2 children)
Through the excessive use of profanity.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @07:41PM (1 child)
Amen to that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 27 2021, @04:48AM
You mean: Fuckin' A right! Amen to that, goddamnit.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by srobert on Friday February 26 2021, @09:29PM (1 child)
... I'm pausing to be certain that what I'm about to say accurately reflects the truth and won't be misinterpreted. And as a listener, long exposure to narcissists has trained me to be wary of people who answer too quickly and too confidently. I perceive that most people are the opposite. They like the self-confidence of the con-man even though it isn't warranted. To them, it makes him sound like he knows what he's talking about. They believe that he knows more than the generals, or the doctors, or anyone else. Trust me. I know better than anyone what this is about. My knowledge about it is really amazing, absolutely terrific. No one knows more about this than I do.
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Saturday February 27 2021, @08:19AM
Similar here. I wonder if there is an age related factor. Do older people just get more cynical about fast-talkers simply being quicker bullshitters? (TFA doesn't mention separating by age.)
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Friday February 26 2021, @11:43PM (1 child)
You have to think about it.
Thinking takes time.
The truth is often accessing a lookup table, not an an exersice in constructing a plausible defensible framework for misinformation.
Our own government and its contractors is an example of the latter.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 27 2021, @08:22AM
Your's is currently the latest top level post. I don't believe you.