The hidden benefits of playing dumb, according to science

Fact Checked

Under review

Surely you have ever hidden something you knew to avoid getting into trouble or saving stress. You are not the only one. Playing dumb has short-term benefits.

Demonstrate your intelligence in a job interview; expose your skills to people who don’t master them as much as you; impress someone you like by showing off your intellect… These are situations that anyone would like to be involved in, imagining, at the same time, that they come out of them well. Now, what would you think if I told you that there are also hidden benefits of playing dumb in the short term? It seems contradictory, but science has proven it.

According to a study by Laura Venz and Hadar Neshan Shoshan of Leuphana University and the University of Mannheim, employees often hide their knowledge, a behavior that may be due to being upset for some reason that would lead them to behave this way.

Stressors and knowledge hiding

Failing to “play dumb” often has consequences. However, through the lens of the transactional stress model (Venz & Nesher, 2022) it can be observed how certain behaviors of hiding information, apparently counterproductive, often have a value for those who pretend to be “dumb”, since they feed their sense of control in potentially stressful situations.

Hypothetical cases

Imagine the following situations:

You listen carefully to an intelligent interlocutor (someone you esteem). He talks about a topic that he knows well and about which he does not like to be refuted, but you are sure that his arguments have very weak points – you are able to recognize them because he is particularly well informed on that topic; but you decide not to correct him, to stay silent and listen calmly, thus avoiding a possible tense situation. A co-worker asks you about the report that you would have to deliver today. He asks you for some adjustments that, supposedly, he did not know or did not have time to make; However, despite being able, he decides not to do his job. You begin to suspect that he is taking advantage of you to work less, so you tell him that you won’t do it, because you think it is his responsibility.

Read Also: 9 relaxation exercises to free ourselves (finally) from anxiety

In the first case, by not expressing doubts about the interlocutor’s argument, you avoid a possible conflict. In the second, you decide to be assertive, and you not only decide to say what you think, but you also decide to act in line with it.

Benefits of playing dumb

Venz and Nesher (2022) propose that perceived stressors would lead the person to taking the stance of hiding knowledge as a method to emotionally cope with tense situationsa posture that would produce physical and mental exhaustion.

The “playing dumb” study was based on an experiment with 101 employees (65.3% women), which lasted 615 days; “the average work experience was 12.6 years (…) and the average weekly work time was 38.5 hours” (Venz & Nesher, 2022, p. 122).

The participants were qualified to obtain results of their level of negative affect and tension with their co-workers, regarding the hiding of knowledge, in addition to the exhaustion that this situation caused them.

Although this attitude of hiding knowledge has a negative connotation, for example, in jobs that cause unpleasantness (Venz & Nesher, 2022), It can be functional in situations that require reducing psychological tension responses to stressors.that is, hiding knowledge as a coping strategy, focused solely on emotion, to oppose psychological tension, for a short period.

Playing dumb is less tiring, but…

Those responsible for the study came to the conclusion – taking into account negative feelings and workload as factors, in addition to the relationship between tension, concealment of knowledge and stress – that Playing dumb was less exhausting and led to a feeling of relief. Such an attitude is a coping strategy, related to low psychological tension.

Read Also: 5 fatalistic beliefs that paralyze us

Individuals who suffer from tense moods often play dumb to feel better. It depends on what stressful situation will present the conditions indicated to adopt this role.

Finally, it is not a good idea to play dumb all the time. Venz & Nesher claim that This strategy serves in the short term to feel better in the face of the respective stressors, but not in the long term.. Hiding your knowledge for too long can wear you down.

Therefore, if you feel pressured or want to avoid confrontations that are very frequent, It is recommended that you be yourself and not hide, since it is your duty to control your reactions, but not that of others.