The relationship between cognitive failure and gullibility: loneliness and impulsivity as chain mediators

Xue Du (), Jian Liang and Xiaoyi Chen
Additional contact information
Xue Du: Chongqing Normal University
Jian Liang: Chongqing Normal University
Xiaoyi Chen: Chongqing Normal University

Palgrave Communications, 2025, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Fraud susceptibility is a complex characteristic influenced by a combination of cognitive functioning, loneliness, and impulsivity. Research has shown that individuals with weaker cognitive functioning, higher levels of loneliness, and higher levels of impulsivity are more likely to be victims of fraud. The purpose of this study was to examine the positive relationship between cognitive failure and gullibility and to examine whether loneliness and impulsivity mediate this relationship. A total of 842 valid questionnaires including the Chinese version of Gullibility Scale, the Cognitive Failure Scale, the Simplified Barratt Impulsivity Scale, and the Loneliness Scale were collected from college students. Our results showed that (1) there were significant positive correlations among gullibility, cognitive failure, loneliness, and impulsivity; (2) loneliness and impulsivity played a chain-mediated role between cognitive failure and gullibility.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-04855-3 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04855-3

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/palcomms/about

DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-04855-3

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Palgrave Communications from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().