Who Does Not Benefit from Fact-checking Websites?: A Psychological Characteristic Predicts the Selective Avoidance of Clicking Uncongenial Facts

Fact-checking messages are shared or ignored subjectively. Users tend to seek like-minded information and ignore information that conflicts with their preexisting beliefs, leaving like-minded misinformation uncontrolled on the Internet. To understand the factors that distract fact-checking engagement, we investigated the psychological characteristics associated with users' selective avoidance of clicking uncongenial facts. In a pre-registered experiment, we measured participants' (N = 506) preexisting beliefs about COVID-19-related news stimuli. We then examined whether they clicked on fact-checking links to false news that they believed to be accurate. We proposed an index that divided participants into fact-avoidance and fact-exposure groups using a mathematical baseline. The results indicated that 43% of participants selectively avoided clicking on uncongenial facts, keeping 93% of their false beliefs intact. Reflexiveness is the psychological characteristic that predicts selective avoidance. We discuss susceptibility to click bias that prevents users from utilizing fact-checking websites and the implications for future design. © 2023 Owner/Author.

Latino-Targeted Misinformation and the Power of Factual Corrections

Do individual, interpersonal, or institutional factors condition the effects of misinformation on beliefs? Can interventions such as fact checks stem the tide of the "infodemic” within marginalized communities? We explore the sudden flood of misinformation and disinformation targeting Latinos during the 2020 election and global COVID-19 pandemic to answer these questions. In a preregistered experiment, we find that exposure to misinformation can decrease factual accuracy, and neither trust in nor consumption of media, including ethnic media, serves as a buffer against these misinformation effects. However, fact checks eliminate the effects of misinformation on false beliefs without "backfiring” and reducing accuracy. Fact checks improve factual accuracy among subgroups varying in levels of political knowledge, trust, and acculturation. These findings provide crucial support for recent investments into fact checking by Latino-oriented media outlets and address gaps within the literature over whether such interventions are also effective within marginalized groups.

A new method to implant false autobiographical memories: Blind implantation

We offer an elegant new and straightforward paradigm to implant false autobiographical memories. Participants received 20 autobiographical events including a critical false event (i.e., swimsuit falling off) and had to indicate whether they ever experienced these events. After 1 week, participants who did not experience the false event received a second survey suggesting that they actually did experience the false event. Participants had to provide belief and recollection ratings and event-related details. Also, one group of participants was told that the false event happened once (Single group) while the other group was told that the event happened repeatedly (Repeated group). Depending on the memory type (e.g., false belief or false memory), false memory implantation ranged between 9% and 30%. Furthermore, false beliefs were most likely to be elicited in the Single group. This novel paradigm can offer new insights on how false autobiographical memories can be implanted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement A bitter controversy exists surrounding the topic of therapy-induced false memories. Because of this controversy, memory scholars have devised several ways to create false memories. The "lost-in-the-mall" paradigm has become the popular procedure to implant false autobiographical memories. Although the paradigm is highly influential, the paradigm is time consuming and requires extensive training to interview participants and score participants' reports. Therefore, we offer an elegant new and straightforward paradigm to implant false autobiographical memories. Inspired by the memory blindness literature and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we created a new paradigm that can be fully implemented online. In this paradigm, subjects receive a list of twenty autobiographical events including a critical false event (i.e., swimming trunks falling off), and have to indicate whether they ever experienced these events. Following a 1-week interval, participants stating that they did not experience the false event receive a second survey suggesting that they actually did experience the false event and stating that they experienced several true events. Participants have to provide, before and after receiving imagination instructions, belief and recollection ratings, and event-related details. In the present study, we also told one group that the false event happened once (Single group) while the other group was suggested that the event happened repeatedly (Repeated group). Depending on the memory type (e.g., false belief or false memory), false memory implantation ranged between 9% and 30%. Furthermore, false beliefs were most likely to be elicited in the Single group while false memory rates did not statistically differ between groups. This novel paradigm can offer new insights on how false autobiographical memories can be implanted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

False beliefs and "healthy" skepticism: Understanding the multilevel and enduring challenges of misinformation

This dissertation is a study about how people make (mis)informed decisions in the contemporary media environment where there are growing concerns over misinformation, structural inequalities, and the power of platforms. This dissertation addresses two major questions. First, how do beliefs in misinformation develop as a function of multilevel mechanisms, not only as a result of individual identities, preferences, and media diets, but also as a result of mass media structures that impose contextual influences beyond individual choices? Second, how do we foster "healthy" skepticism that helps citizens detect misinformation on social media platforms, while avoiding perpetuating a contentious understanding of fake news that often leads to anti-democratic outcomes? Through four empirical studies, I use quasi-experiment, computational classification of social media and news texts, scale construction, and panel survey experiment to uncover the multilevel and enduring challenges of misinformation. In PART 1 (Chapter 1 & 2), I demonstrate that disparities in local newspaper context across communities uniquely influence people's beliefs about COVID-19 and politics. When living in a community without a local newspaper, people are less certain about and more likely to underestimate COVID-19 prevalence in their community, which in turn are associated with less social distancing. Further, lacking a local newspaper in one's community amplifies partisan selective exposure and makes it more likely for both Democrats and Republicans to believe in false claims made by national in-party elites. Turning from formation of misinformation beliefs to strategies to mitigate misinformation, In PART 2 (Chapter 3 & 4), I show that concerns over social media misinformation are frequently politicized in mainstream broadcast TV news and in Twitter and Facebook utterances. I contend that not all skepticism leads to a better-informed citizenry and theorize two types of skepticism towards social media misinformation: accuracy- vs. identity-motivated skepticism. I reveal that while accuracy-motivated skepticism decreases people's susceptibility to partisanship-congruent misinformation they later encounter, identity-motivated skepticism fuels biases in believing in congruent misinformation and makes content moderation by social media platforms less effective. Together, these findings seek to advance theory-building that deepens our understanding of how individuals, communities, and societies face the challenges brought by misinformation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

COVID-19 and SPELLED AGEISM: What Effect Does The Pandemic Have On Older People?

BACKGROUND The major aim of this discussion is to spotlight the ageism that has appeared during the COVID-19. Here we discusses about how the older people are wrongly presented in our community and their less value in the society. During this pandemic, covid-19 was resulted into major cause of death for older adults.Ageism is generally seen in the western and developing societies and here, older people are seen with false beliefs and judgments. To overcome this, the health authorities should consider older adults to be an integral part of the population, they should not feel burdened by them. OBJECTIVE The article provides a review of the literature on behaviour and attitudes toward ageism and older adults in the world and discusses the facts and findings on the basis of the review of literature on ageing, age stereotypes, impact of ageism on older people as well as their link toculture and society. METHODS This review articles was published from June 2020 to January 2021 and indexed in the electronic databases Web of Science, PubMed, and WHO official website. Electronic searches were made with visual scanning of reference lists and hand searching of leading journals in the field of ageing and social gerontology. RESULTS During covid-19 pandemic, flexibility of old age should be adopted. Here the treatment should be depends upon chronological age as well as on values and preferences of people. An alternative framework must be established which shows the negative impact of the corona virus on the population. We must stop saying terms called social distancing and better call the best appropriate term such as physical distancing.In the social world, the major asset of emergency situations is intergenerational relation without this relation the life of older people become vulnerable. CONCLUSION In this article, advocates and public health researcher share their opinion about ageism, and try their efforts to reduce the perspective of people towards the older adults that appeared at the time of covid-19. This pandemic shows high mortality rates for older adults than younger adults. We cannot afford to be inattentive for the lost lives caused by ageist behaviour and attitudes. We need to think about of what will happen if we let ageism influence,and how thediscussion and treatment of old people affects during and after the pandemic. © The Electrochemical Society

A new method to implant false autobiographical memories: Blind implantation

We offer an elegant new and straightforward paradigm to implant false autobiographical memories. Participants received 20 autobiographical events including a critical false event (i.e., swimsuit falling off) and had to indicate whether they ever experienced these events. After 1 week, participants who did not experience the false event received a second survey suggesting that they actually did experience the false event. Participants had to provide belief and recollection ratings and event-related details. Also, one group of participants was told that the false event happened once (Single group) while the other group was told that the event happened repeatedly (Repeated group). Depending on the memory type (e.g., false belief or false memory), false memory implantation ranged between 9% and 30%. Furthermore, false beliefs were most likely to be elicited in the Single group. This novel paradigm can offer new insights on how false autobiographical memories can be implanted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement A bitter controversy exists surrounding the topic of therapy-induced false memories. Because of this controversy, memory scholars have devised several ways to create false memories. The "lost-in-the-mall" paradigm has become the popular procedure to implant false autobiographical memories. Although the paradigm is highly influential, the paradigm is time consuming and requires extensive training to interview participants and score participants' reports. Therefore, we offer an elegant new and straightforward paradigm to implant false autobiographical memories. Inspired by the memory blindness literature and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we created a new paradigm that can be fully implemented online. In this paradigm, subjects receive a list of twenty autobiographical events including a critical false event (i.e., swimming trunks falling off), and have to indicate whether they ever experienced these events. Following a 1-week interval, participants stating that they did not experience the false event receive a second survey suggesting that they actually did experience the false event and stating that they experienced several true events. Participants have to provide, before and after receiving imagination instructions, belief and recollection ratings, and event-related details. In the present study, we also told one group that the false event happened once (Single group) while the other group was suggested that the event happened repeatedly (Repeated group). Depending on the memory type (e.g., false belief or false memory), false memory implantation ranged between 9% and 30%. Furthermore, false beliefs were most likely to be elicited in the Single group while false memory rates did not statistically differ between groups. This novel paradigm can offer new insights on how false autobiographical memories can be implanted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Understanding the dynamics emerging from infodemics: a call to action for interdisciplinary research.

Research on infodemics, i.e., the rapid spread of (mis)information related to a hazardous event, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, requires integrating a multiplicity of scientific disciplines. The dynamics emerging from infodemics have the potential to generate complex behavioral patterns. To react appropriately, it is of ultimate importance for the fields of Business and Economics to understand these dynamics. In the short run, they might lead to an adaptation in household spending or to a shift in buying behavior towards online providers. In the long run, changes in investments, consumer behavior, and markets are to be expected. We argue that the dynamics emerge from complex interactions among multiple factors, such as information and misinformation accessible to individuals and the formation and revision of beliefs. (Mis)information accessible to individuals is, amongst others, affected by algorithms specifically designed to provide personalized information, while automated fact-checking algorithms can help reduce the amount of circulating misinformation. The formation and revision of individual (and probably false) beliefs and individual fact-checking and interpretation of information are heavily affected by linguistic patterns inherent to information during pandemics and infodemics and further factors, such as affect, intuition, and motives. We argue that, to get a deep(er) understanding of the dynamics emerging from infodemics, the fields of Business and Economics should integrate the perspectives of Computer Science and Information Systems, (Computational) Linguistics, and Cognitive Science into the wider context of economic systems (e.g., organizations, markets or industries) and propose a way to do so. As research on infodemics is a strongly interdisciplinary field and the integration of the above-mentioned disciplines is a first step towards a holistic approach, we conclude with a call to action which should encourage researchers to collaborate across scientific disciplines and unfold collective creativity, which will substantially advance research on infodemics.