Cognitive and emotional correlates of belief in political misinformation: Who endorses partisan misbeliefs?

Abstract

Across two studies, we investigated how much cognitive variables and emotional dynamics anticipated endorsement of politically partisan misbeliefs. In Study 1 (n = 298), those with lower levels of cognitive ability endorsed more political misbeliefs regardless of whether those beliefs aligned with their political preferences. However, emotional investment in political parties and outcomes predicted who endorsed misbeliefs in a partisan manner. In Study 2 (n = 251), asking participants to briefly consider political misinformation as true via social consensus led them to feel dissonance, particularly for incompatible beliefs. Allowing them then to endorse or reject those misbeliefs reduced that dissonance yet maintained feelings of self-validation, particularly as participants rejected beliefs hostile to their political vies. This effect was stronger for emotionally invested participants. These findings suggest that endorsement of divisive partisan misbeliefs is associated with affective partisanship, a feature of the political landscape that is on the rise.

A framework for understanding reasoning errors: From fake news to climate change and beyond

“…People who are more reflective are also better able to distinguish between full news stories that are true versus false (as opposed to merely headlines, as above) (Pehlivanoglu et al, 2021). Analytic thinking is also associated with a greater ability to distinguish between true content and misleading (but not false) hyper-partisan content (Ross et al, 2021) as well as having fewer political misbeliefs in general (Sanchez & Dunning, 2021) (in both cases, regardless of political consistency). For example, as displayed in Figure 8, Donald Trump voters who are more analytic were less likely to think that he won the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election in the immediate aftermath of the election (when it had been called in favor of Joe Biden by media organizations, but many on the political right were questioning the legitimacy of the election).…”

Emotion, analytic thinking and susceptibility to misinformation during the COVID-19 outbreak

“…Previous studies examined the effect of different emotions on people's vulnerability to misinformation. Some focused on global emotions (e.g., Forgas & East, 2008 ; Martel et al, 2020 ; Sanchez & Dunning, 2021 ), while others focused on specific emotions (e.g., Martel et al, 2020 ; Rosenzweig et al, 2021 ; Weeks, 2015 ). In the context of the pandemic, the COVID-19 risk could exert lasting influences on people's emotional states as the pandemic continues.…”

To believe or not to believe: Personality, cognitive, and emotional factors involving fake news perceived accuracy

“…This evidence aligns with prior literature emphasizing the importance of emotions. Sanchez and Dunning (2021) demonstrated that individuals with both high and low…”

“…This evidence aligns with prior literature emphasizing the importance of emotions. Sanchez and Dunning (2021) demonstrated that individuals with both high and low IQs are inclined to believe political misinformation consistent with their political identity when they are emotionally invested in their respective parties and their prospects, thus highlighting the role of emotional investment.…”