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Own and others' confidence in social information use
Andrea Gradassi1,2, Wouter van den Bos1,3, Lucas Molleman1
1Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1001 NK, the Netherlands.
Iscience
|June 3, 2026
Summary
People rely more on others' opinions when they are uncertain. High confidence from others influences social information use, impacting decisions but increasing vulnerability to misinformation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Social influence significantly impacts consumer behavior, personal choices, and political decisions.
- The expressed confidence of others plays a crucial role in how their opinions are perceived and utilized.
- Limited understanding exists regarding the combined effect of one's own confidence and others' confidence on social information processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how individuals' own confidence and the confidence of others jointly influence the use of social information in decision-making.
- To examine the impact of perceived confidence on the adjustment of personal judgments based on social cues.
Main Methods:
- Two incentivized decision-making tasks were conducted with participants from the U.S.A. (N = 203 and N = 213).
- Participants adjusted their initial judgments after observing the judgments and confidence levels of peers.
- Behavioral data on judgment adjustments and heuristic strategy choices were collected and analyzed.
Main Results:
- Individuals' adjustments to their judgments were most influenced by others' confidence when their own confidence was low.
- The confidence of others affected heuristic strategies, leading participants to more frequently compromise and copy social information rather than adhering to initial estimates.
- Higher confidence expressed by peers prompted greater reliance on social information.
Conclusions:
- Following confident social information, particularly when uncertain, can enhance decision-making accuracy.
- Over-reliance on confident others, especially during periods of low personal confidence, can increase susceptibility to misinformation.
- Understanding the interplay between personal and social confidence is critical for navigating information environments.
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