In Annals of Gullibility, Psychologist Stephen Greenspan (no relation to Alan) takes a close look at how and why human beings allow themselves to be taken advantage of. Though he defines gullibility as an unusual tendency towards being duped, the book (as well as the fact that the author himself just lost a chunk of his retirement savings to Bernie Madoff) makes it uncomfortably clear that falling prey to following advice that is not in our best interest is a distinct risk of being human.

The majority of Greenspan’s book details how gullibility plays out in various spheres of life. He begins by looking at gullible characters in literature and proceeds to offer real world examples of it in religion, war and politics, criminal justice, science and academia, finance and relationships, and vulnerable populations. The stories he relates in these sections—from apocalyptic cult followers to coerced false confessions to art world scams to the Iraq war—are a fascinating and disturbing chronicle of how deception and trust interact and the numerous ways human decision making processes can go terribly awry.

Greenspan raises a number of interesting questions throughout the course of this discussion, including how to find the balance between healthy skepticism and closed-minded cynicism. He also addresses such thorny issues as an individual’s right to personal autonomy vs. the responsibilities of others to protect vulnerable populations from exploitation. His comments on these issues with regards to early stage Alzheimer’s patients were particularly thought-provoking.

Though many people associate gullibility with low intelligence, the copious examples he gives of very smart people being duped show that tendencies towards gullibility are affected by far more than just intellectual capacity. Greenspan has outlined four elements that can influence whether or not a person will behave in a gullible fashion—the social situation, cognitive processes, type of personality, and physical/emotional state. In the final chapter, he offers some suggestions on how to become less gullible, including practical tips such as avoiding impulsive choices and learning how to disengage from coercive situations. As his own recent investment loss shows, however, sometimes the only way to become less gullible is to learn from past experience.