Untangling the web of misinformation and false beliefs

Abstract

Stanley et al. (2022) underscore four fundamental cognitive principles that underlie the human belief system. These include the truth bias (a predisposition to believe incoming information as true), bias to extract meaning from information (use of prior expectations to make sense of new information), bias to rely on the source of information to judge truth (using judgments of source credibility to rate veracity), and bias to rely on fluency to judge truth (perceptions of ease of processing information affect truth judgments). I suggest that understanding these principles can help us defer and deflect false beliefs from becoming entrenched in consumer minds and offer ways to leverage the four principles in the service of truth. I then propose that we broaden our focus in the study of false beliefs in three ways--by focusing on prevention of false beliefs rather than correction, by diversifying the dependent measures we study and by addressing the role of identity in false belief maintenance. I conclude with a discussion of some thorny issues and the need for regulation in this sphere. I seek to offer a research agenda to scholars interested in addressing the misinformation crisis that is ripping apart the fabric of our society.

Avoiding through glossiness and approaching through matte: The effect of visual finish on perceived product effectiveness

“…Scholars have hypothesized that the fit between finish and product type makes the product information feel more trustworthy (Johar, 2022; Vignovic & Thompson, 2010), thus enhancing consumers' perceived product effectiveness (Chatterjee & Chaudhuri, 2005; Priester & Petty, 2003) and their preference for the product. Building on approach–avoidance goal pursuit theory, the current research classifies problem‐solving products into problem‐approaching and problem‐avoiding ones.…”

The psychological underpinnings of false beliefs: Construction, updating, prevention, and correction

“…In the second commentary, Johar (2022) builds on the four principles of belief construction outlined by Stanley et al (2022) by drilling down more deeply into the processes underlying each of the four principles, with the goal of determining how to make interventions more effective. Because it is likely easier to prevent the formation of false beliefs than it is to correct them once they are formed, she suggests that interventions may be more successful if they focus on enabling consumers to “defer and deflect” false beliefs from becoming entrenched in their minds.…”