If you’ve ever wondered why the most overconfident embarrassments in the headlines and in your life are so frequently young, posh and male, wonder no more. It’s a thing. Bullshit can be packaged in so many ways, but it frequently comes in a certain form. According to a new study from University College London, young men who come from advantaged backgrounds are more likely to be bullshitters. That is, they believe they’re smarter, stronger and all-round better than they actually are.

He could sniff out insecurity like a truffle-hunting pig, and play with it until hard-working colleagues cried

If you’re balking at the results from Prof John Jerrim and Nikki Shure’s survey of 40,000 15-year-olds, just chew on the details. “We found that male participants were much more likely to bullshit about their knowledge,” says Jerrim. Shure adds: “Unsurprisingly, they are also more likely to believe they are popular at school.” Look back through your life and recall how many people you’ve known like this who have actually been called on their bullshit and forced to reflect and grow from it, how rare that it is.

Because when bullshitting doesn’t result in, say, Billy McFarland’s Fyre festival, it can pay off big time. Self-belief, no matter how misapplied and misjudged, is a major part of success. It’s what gets you to the dance, they say, even when you’ve got a shitty moonwalk. Low self-worth can get you stuck outside in the cold.

Impostor syndrome, the warped mirror-image of bullshitting, affects two-thirds of working women in the UK. This negative self-sabotage also affects men, but there are reasons why women still make up such a small percentage of politicians, business leaders and world influencers. It’s not all to do with low confidence, of course, considering for example the socioeconomic imbalance and patriarchal structures we’re up against. But believing you don’t have what it takes to change that doesn’t help.

If you’re one of those with a continuous nagging doubt in your abilities and every win comes with “you were lucky” self-admonishment, seeing bullshitters succeed is a torment. I once knew someone from the young-posh-male mould – who I’ll call Hal, because he had the sociopathic drone of the computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and I was trapped working with him for way … too … long. He sold himself as someone who could turn companies around with his knowledge of the market and business acumen. What he actually had was a mediocre work history mitigated by the arrogance that comes from a safety net of rich parents and an Eton education. Basically, he would be considered a real catch for the majority of modern workplaces, because this is how the world works.

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If someone presents themselves convincingly as A Big Deal, many will automatically believe them. Hal’s directions often made no sense, his attitude was condescending and cruel, and the breath that wafted from his on-trend hipster beard smelt like eggs Benedict gone bad. But the conviction he spoke with – that was irresistible. He could sniff out insecurity like a truffle-hunting pig, and play with it until hard-working and worthwhile colleagues cried in meetings or started to disassociate at their desk. He’d smirk, while we doubted ourselves. Hal truly believed he was impressive – he was so full of delusion that he didn’t even think he needed a regular oral hygiene routine.

Women who can block out those little “you can’t do that” thoughts can get far in a global workplace that too often values confidence over proven skill and results. Elizabeth Holmes did it for a while with the Theranos scam. Miley Cyrus is still out there doing … whatever she’s doing now. But this society is still quicker to reward the young, rich and male. And if you live in a world so quick to forgive, support, and trust you, is it so surprising that you grow up with a head so full of bullshit?

• Phoebe-Jane Boyd is a content editor