Littrell and colleagues recruited a total of 826 participants from Canada and the United States. Study 1 explored the extent to which bullshitting frequency was associated with pseudo-profound bullshit, scientific bullshit, and fake news, with each task including a measure of receptivity to relevant non-bullshit (e.g., genuinely profound statements, scientific information, actual news headlines).

Study 2 more closely examined the extent to which bullshitting frequency was associated with bullshit receptivity, specifically pseudo-profound bullshit. It included measures of cognitive ability.