The Money Fit Show · Season 1, Episode 2
Fooling Yourself into Scams Through Motivated Cognition
What happens when we want something to be true badly enough that we begin discounting the warning signs? Dale Dixon returns to the Money Fit Show to discuss motivated cognition, selective perception, and the ways our own expectations can make a scam harder to recognize.
Motivated cognition and scam warning signs
Play Season 1, Episode 2 directly through Spotify without leaving Money Fit.
Sometimes the warning signs compete with what we want to believe
This is the second of three early Money Fit Show conversations with Dale Dixon of the Better Business Bureau. The discussion moves beyond the sunk cost effect covered in Episode 1 and looks at another part of scam psychology: the way people can interpret information in a direction that supports an outcome they already want.
Dale uses motivated cognition and selective perception to explain why intelligence or education alone does not make someone immune to fraud. A person who believes an opportunity might be real, or who believes they can outsmart the person on the other end, may give reassuring information more weight while overlooking evidence that points the other way.
Topics covered in this episode
Dale and Todd continue examining scams through the decisions and assumptions that can happen before money ever changes hands.
- The “what if?” thinking that can keep an attractive possibility alive even when warning signs begin appearing.
- Why education level alone does not determine whether someone can become a scam victim.
- An Ivy League football study Dale uses to illustrate how prior beliefs can shape what people perceive.
- Why scammers can rely on probabilities and repeated tactics rather than waiting for coincidence.
- Selective perception and the tendency to notice information that supports what we already hope or expect.
- Why it helps to build research habits before an unexpected offer, call, or request creates pressure.
- How the Better Business Bureau's Scam Tracker can help consumers research reported scams.
Do the research before emotion has a reason to argue back
One useful idea from the conversation is to establish verification habits before an unexpected opportunity arrives. Looking up an organization, checking independent sources, and slowing down the decision can be easier when those steps are already routine.
BBB Scam Tracker
Dale references the Better Business Bureau's Scam Tracker, which allows consumers to search reported scams and submit reports about suspicious activity.
Dale Dixon
Dale Dixon joined the opening three-part scam series from the Better Business Bureau. At the time of this episode, he was identified as a BBB Chief Innovations Officer. His conversations with Todd focus on the psychology behind scams and the decision-making patterns scammers may try to exploit.
