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The Confidence Game: The Psychology of the Con and Why We Fall for It Every Time by Maria Konnikova
anastasiahiraeth's review against another edition
1.0
Ich muss wirklich aufhören, psychologische Underdogs zu lesen. Sie sind meistens nur eine Enttäuschung.
Also der Titel allein ist recht irreführend. Dieses Buch dreht sich im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes um CONfidence - con artists, Betrüger. Eben um alle, die bei den Spielregeln des Lebens schwindeln und vielleicht oder vielleicht auch nicht damit durchkommen.
Der Schlüssel zum Erfolg dieser Regelbrecherei liegt ebenfalls im Titel selbst, also keine große Überraschung hier.
Was mich aber irritiert, und schon an so vielen anderen Underdog-Sachbüchern irritiert hat, ist die mangelnde Auseinandersetzung mit der Wissenschaft selbst. Man liest von Person XY, dessen Namen man UNTER GARANTIE noch nie gehört hat, aber hier wird sein Name so prominent ausgelegt, als handle es sich um Elon Musk oder Julian Assange.
Geschichten und Anekdoten, bis man davon satt geworden ist, aber Wissenschaft? Psychologischer Bezug? Ja, warum haben die denn so eine Ausstrahlung, so ein Selbstbewusstsein? Was spielt sich da psychothematisch im eigenen Verhalten, im Kopf und im Zusammenspiel mit anderen ab?
Fehlanzeige.
Langsam dämmert es mir, warum es soooo viele Sachbücher zur menschlichen Psychologie gibt, alle mit den farbenfrohsten und vielversprechendsten Titeln, und warum es aber immer nur ein oder zwei tatsächlich auf irgendeine Bestsellerliste schaffen.
Gelernt habe ich von dem Buch nichts. Also auch hier keinen Mehrwert gefunden, nicht mal einen Satz. Schade.
Also der Titel allein ist recht irreführend. Dieses Buch dreht sich im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes um CONfidence - con artists, Betrüger. Eben um alle, die bei den Spielregeln des Lebens schwindeln und vielleicht oder vielleicht auch nicht damit durchkommen.
Der Schlüssel zum Erfolg dieser Regelbrecherei liegt ebenfalls im Titel selbst, also keine große Überraschung hier.
Was mich aber irritiert, und schon an so vielen anderen Underdog-Sachbüchern irritiert hat, ist die mangelnde Auseinandersetzung mit der Wissenschaft selbst. Man liest von Person XY, dessen Namen man UNTER GARANTIE noch nie gehört hat, aber hier wird sein Name so prominent ausgelegt, als handle es sich um Elon Musk oder Julian Assange.
Geschichten und Anekdoten, bis man davon satt geworden ist, aber Wissenschaft? Psychologischer Bezug? Ja, warum haben die denn so eine Ausstrahlung, so ein Selbstbewusstsein? Was spielt sich da psychothematisch im eigenen Verhalten, im Kopf und im Zusammenspiel mit anderen ab?
Fehlanzeige.
Langsam dämmert es mir, warum es soooo viele Sachbücher zur menschlichen Psychologie gibt, alle mit den farbenfrohsten und vielversprechendsten Titeln, und warum es aber immer nur ein oder zwei tatsächlich auf irgendeine Bestsellerliste schaffen.
Gelernt habe ich von dem Buch nichts. Also auch hier keinen Mehrwert gefunden, nicht mal einen Satz. Schade.
kathrinpassig's review
2.0
Ich habe es gelesen, weil ich Konnikovas Buch über Poker gut fand. Das Pokerbuch handelte allerdings von ihren eigenen Erfahrungen. "The Confidence Game" ist eine Aneinanderreihung von Hunderten nacherzählter Betrugsgeschichten und Studien, aus der ich im Verhältnis zur Buchlänge sehr wenig gelernt habe. Ich habe selbst schon solche Bücher geschrieben, "ich habe ganz viel zusammengegoogelt und bringe das jetzt in eine Reihenfolge", man kann ja nicht alles selbst erlebt haben. Beim Recherchieren und Schreiben ist das alles interessant. Beim Lesen leider weniger.
rosietomyn's review against another edition
5.0
The Confidence Game by Maria Konnikova was a very interesting, informative read. Konnikova addresses so much more than con artists in this book.
The con artists discussed are shared as examples for readers to not only better understand how cons work, but also how human nature pre-determines their success. She touches on the insecurities that lead some people to be more susceptible to even conning themselves -- constantly convincing one's self that a partner is something they have consistently proven themselves not to be, being positive one can be successful where others have not been - against all data, choosing to ignore warning signs because it's more comfortable than the acknowledgement they were wrong before. A very fascinating discussion about how social and emotional comfort in decision making.
My only frustration, and it was minor, was how the con stories are split up and sprinkled about. I understand the choice -- to highlight specific cons and reasons they work -- but it made reading about that history less satisfying.
Overall, a very interesting read! I will be thinking about it for a long while.
The con artists discussed are shared as examples for readers to not only better understand how cons work, but also how human nature pre-determines their success. She touches on the insecurities that lead some people to be more susceptible to even conning themselves -- constantly convincing one's self that a partner is something they have consistently proven themselves not to be, being positive one can be successful where others have not been - against all data, choosing to ignore warning signs because it's more comfortable than the acknowledgement they were wrong before. A very fascinating discussion about how social and emotional comfort in decision making.
My only frustration, and it was minor, was how the con stories are split up and sprinkled about. I understand the choice -- to highlight specific cons and reasons they work -- but it made reading about that history less satisfying.
Overall, a very interesting read! I will be thinking about it for a long while.
chloj_805's review against another edition
5.0
A very compelling and well-researched book about the psychology of scams. Perfect for 2019!
adamrbrooks's review against another edition
4.0
Positive takeaways from this book: some reminders about the power of a good story and how to persuade.
Negative takeaways: I can't ever trust anyone ever again.
The negative is an exaggeration, of course. But Konnikova mentions a few times that the cons she details are just the ones that come to light. Nobody knows how many successful cons go undiscovered. She also touches on the idea that there can be a thin line between legitimate convincing and a con.
People who like "Hidden Brain" or "You Are Not So Smart" will understand that much of this comes down to cognitive bias, especially the universal thought that we are exceptional, so of course could never get conned.
Fun read. (And if you don't already listen to Slate's The Gist podcast, start doing it, because Konnikova is a frequent and amusing guest.)
Negative takeaways: I can't ever trust anyone ever again.
The negative is an exaggeration, of course. But Konnikova mentions a few times that the cons she details are just the ones that come to light. Nobody knows how many successful cons go undiscovered. She also touches on the idea that there can be a thin line between legitimate convincing and a con.
People who like "Hidden Brain" or "You Are Not So Smart" will understand that much of this comes down to cognitive bias, especially the universal thought that we are exceptional, so of course could never get conned.
Fun read. (And if you don't already listen to Slate's The Gist podcast, start doing it, because Konnikova is a frequent and amusing guest.)
bootman's review against another edition
5.0
Maria Konnikova is one of my favorite psychology writers. She has an incredible ability to blend psychology with her incredible storytelling skills. What's funny is that I actually started reading this book because I'm currently writing my next book, and I thought this was going to be about building confidence, but it's about why people get conned. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that was the topic because it's actually something that will help me as I write my new non-fiction book.
This is a book that is extremely relevant. As I write this review, it's January 2021. It's months after Trump convinced millions of people that there was a fraudulent election despite no evidence, and just a few weeks ago on January 6th, people believed it so much that they stormed the capitol. I've always been fascinated with how people fall for conspiracies or get conned, and this book explains it all. Konnikova explains the various psychological traps we fall into that make it possible for us to get suckered out of time and money.
I think the most interesting part of this book is how Konnikova explains how we'll never even really know the true number of people who get conned. Our reputation is important to us, so who wants to press charges and admit they were suckered and made to look like a fool? Not only that, but the cognitive dissonance explains why people double- and triple-down even after it's become obvious that they're getting conned. I absolutely loved the stories and psychology from this book, and I really hope more people read it.
2nd read:
This was the first book I read from Maria Konnikova, and I wanted to read it again before she came on my podcast. I love all of her books, but this is my favorite by far. When I first started asking the question, “Why do people get conned?” this was one of the first books I read. Maria expertly breaks down the psychology of how people get scammed by con artists and explains how it can happen to the best of us. She discusses how con artists choose their victims and how they use psychology to manipulate people as well as why they get away with it so often. If you’re like me and watch documentaries about people getting conned or about cults, you’ll love this book. You’ll also love this book if you want to build your defenses to ensure you don’t get conned as well. This is one of the best books on the topic, and everyone should read it.
This is a book that is extremely relevant. As I write this review, it's January 2021. It's months after Trump convinced millions of people that there was a fraudulent election despite no evidence, and just a few weeks ago on January 6th, people believed it so much that they stormed the capitol. I've always been fascinated with how people fall for conspiracies or get conned, and this book explains it all. Konnikova explains the various psychological traps we fall into that make it possible for us to get suckered out of time and money.
I think the most interesting part of this book is how Konnikova explains how we'll never even really know the true number of people who get conned. Our reputation is important to us, so who wants to press charges and admit they were suckered and made to look like a fool? Not only that, but the cognitive dissonance explains why people double- and triple-down even after it's become obvious that they're getting conned. I absolutely loved the stories and psychology from this book, and I really hope more people read it.
2nd read:
This was the first book I read from Maria Konnikova, and I wanted to read it again before she came on my podcast. I love all of her books, but this is my favorite by far. When I first started asking the question, “Why do people get conned?” this was one of the first books I read. Maria expertly breaks down the psychology of how people get scammed by con artists and explains how it can happen to the best of us. She discusses how con artists choose their victims and how they use psychology to manipulate people as well as why they get away with it so often. If you’re like me and watch documentaries about people getting conned or about cults, you’ll love this book. You’ll also love this book if you want to build your defenses to ensure you don’t get conned as well. This is one of the best books on the topic, and everyone should read it.
specialk136's review against another edition
2.0
More like 2.5 stars. I grabbed The Confidence Game at random off the shelf at the library because I like reading about psychology (and if I'm being honest...I liked the cover). The book is packed with a lot of really interesting stories about people conning other people; the basic premise being that con artists take advantage of our innate desire to trust others, especially when we're in down in the dumps, lonely, or otherwise vulnerable.
I really felt like the book could've done more with less. Each chapter contains several stories exemplifying one part of the con (the put-up, the play, the tale, etc.). There are so many characters and unique cons I had a hard time getting invested in them - especially since the author likes to start a chapter with a particularly meaty story, drop it to go on to another, then pick up the original story. Each time this happened I had a hard time mentally figuring out which story we were supposed to be going back to. Fewer stories, told more in-depth, would've helped me get more emotionally invested.
Second quibble: the subtitle "Why we fall for it...every time" puts the focus on the victim and why we're so susceptible to the con. We want to trust others, we may believe nothing like that could happen to us, or we're distracted, lonely, or otherwise easy marks. I didn't need to read a book to know that. Wouldn't it be much more interesting to focus on the people conning us? What, if anything, makes them different from other members of society? There are several interesting stories about con artists taking on new identities, seemingly for kicks, not for financial gain. One was a nanny, one was a doctor, another a professor - and despite not having any training, did well enough in their new professions that everyone was shocked when their backstories emerged. What makes these people tick? That, I think, is the book I would've liked to have read.
I really felt like the book could've done more with less. Each chapter contains several stories exemplifying one part of the con (the put-up, the play, the tale, etc.). There are so many characters and unique cons I had a hard time getting invested in them - especially since the author likes to start a chapter with a particularly meaty story, drop it to go on to another, then pick up the original story. Each time this happened I had a hard time mentally figuring out which story we were supposed to be going back to. Fewer stories, told more in-depth, would've helped me get more emotionally invested.
Second quibble: the subtitle "Why we fall for it...every time" puts the focus on the victim and why we're so susceptible to the con. We want to trust others, we may believe nothing like that could happen to us, or we're distracted, lonely, or otherwise easy marks. I didn't need to read a book to know that. Wouldn't it be much more interesting to focus on the people conning us? What, if anything, makes them different from other members of society? There are several interesting stories about con artists taking on new identities, seemingly for kicks, not for financial gain. One was a nanny, one was a doctor, another a professor - and despite not having any training, did well enough in their new professions that everyone was shocked when their backstories emerged. What makes these people tick? That, I think, is the book I would've liked to have read.
ioana313's review
5.0
This was a very fascinating read. Konnikova has a talent of weaving real-life cases with research in a way that constantly keeps you hooked. And those stories are not dropped after one appearance, but are continuously built upon the further we go in understanding a con.
This is the type of book you need a lot of brain space to read, however. It's heavy with well researched information, and it's worth reading it slowly to fully process all that is present. I will definitely check Konnikova's other books.
This is the type of book you need a lot of brain space to read, however. It's heavy with well researched information, and it's worth reading it slowly to fully process all that is present. I will definitely check Konnikova's other books.