Summary of The Confidence Game: by Maria Konnikova | Summary & Analysis

By Instaread Summaries

Summary of The Confidence Game by Maria Konnikova | Summary & Analysis

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The Confidence Game is a nonfiction examination of con games. It considers both the minds and methods of con artists and the minds and weaknesses of the people who fall victim to their schemes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Instaread, Inc
• Release date: May 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781683781035

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Overview

The Confidence Game is a nonfiction examination of con games. It considers both the minds and methods of con artists and the minds and weaknesses of the people who fall victim to their schemes. Con artists are some of the most intuitive psychologists in the world. They are able to read people quickly and easily. They understand what different people want and they take advantage of this by offering them easy solutions: by appearing at the right time, in the right way, with the desired offer.

Anyone, from an esteemed academic to a lonely, debt-ridden young person, can get conned. Falling for a con is less about who one is than where one is in one’s life. People are susceptible when life has them down, when they are already vulnerable and looking for a way out of their troubles. Con artists rely on a number of weaknesses in human psychology to manipulate and deceive people, and convince them to fall for schemes that seem ludicrous and untrustworthy to an outsider. Though people are often able to spot cons when they are targeted at someone else, they are less able