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.”