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Truth sensitivity and partisan bias in responses to misinformation
Bertram Gawronski1, Nyx L Ng1, Dillon M Luke1
1Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|March 27, 2023
Summary
People can distinguish true from false information, but sharing decisions are often biased. Partisan bias, not truth sensitivity, strongly predicts susceptibility to misinformation.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Information Science
- Communication Studies
Background:
- Misinformation poses a significant threat to societal function in the digital age.
- Understanding susceptibility to misinformation is crucial for developing effective countermeasures.
- Existing research often overlooks the interplay between cognitive processes and individual biases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate truth sensitivity and partisan bias in processing and sharing information.
- To identify determinants and correlates of these biases in response to misinformation.
- To assess the relative contributions of truth sensitivity and partisan bias to misinformation susceptibility.
Main Methods:
- Four preregistered experiments involving 2,423 participants.
- Utilized a signal-detection framework to analyze veracity judgments and sharing decisions.
- Examined cognitive reflection, subjective confidence, and information veracity as key variables.
Main Results:
- Participants demonstrated moderate accuracy in distinguishing true from false information.
- Sharing decisions were largely independent of information veracity, highlighting a significant partisan bias.
- Partisan bias was unrelated to overall truth sensitivity but increased with subjective confidence.
- Truth sensitivity was enhanced by cognitive reflection during information encoding.
Conclusions:
- Partisan bias is a more potent predictor of misinformation susceptibility than truth sensitivity.
- Interventions aimed at reducing misinformation should consider strategies to mitigate partisan bias.
- Future research should explore the dynamic interplay between cognitive processes and ideological influences on information processing.
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