In the Media: Stacey Wood Discusses Fraud and Gaslighting with San Francisco Chronicle

Stacey Wood, Molly Mason Jones Chair in Psychology and professor of psychology, spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle about scammers’ use of gaslighting as a tactic to commit fraud. Fear, the promise of a huge reward, and a sense of authority “place you into a less deliberative mind-set because your emotions are invoked,” Wood said. Presenting a problem and an easy solution can also influence fraud victims’ beliefs and actions, Wood added: “We all want a quick fix when we’re in a bind.”

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