Although generally viewed as a common and undesirable social behaviour, very little is known about the nature of bullshitting (i.e., communicating with little to no regard for evidence or truth; Raritan Q Rev 6, 1986, 81); its consequences; and its potential communicative utility. Specifically, it is hypothesized that bullshitting may be may be relatively influential under specified conditions. Experiment 1 participants were exposed to a traditional persuasion paradigm, receiving either strong or weak arguments in either an evidence-based or bullshit frame. Experiment 2 also incorporated a manipulation of a peripheral route cue (i.e., source attractiveness). Findings demonstrate that bullshitting can be an effective means of influence when arguments are weak, yet undermine persuasive attempts when arguments are strong. Results also suggest that bullshit frames may cue peripheral route processing of persuasive information relative to evidence-based frames that appear to cue central route processing. Results are discussed in light of social perception and attitude change.

中文翻译：

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胡说八道和说服：无视真相的说服力

尽管通常被视为一种常见且不受欢迎的社会行为，但人们对胡说八道的性质知之甚少（即，在交流时几乎不考虑证据或真相；Raritan Q Rev 6, 1986, 81); 其后果；及其潜在的交际效用。具体而言，假设在特定条件下，胡说八道可能具有相对影响力。实验 1 的参与者接受了传统的说服范式，在基于证据或废话的框架中接受强或弱的论据。实验 2 还结合了对外围路线线索（即来源吸引力）的操纵。调查结果表明，当论据薄弱时，胡说八道可能是一种有效的影响手段，但在论据有力时会削弱说服力。结果还表明，相对于似乎提示中央路线处理的基于证据的框架，废话框架可能会提示外围路线处理有说服力的信息。