Cognitive science and fake news belief: an exploratory study

[EN] The way we process information can determine the ability to discern fake news from news. This study aims to understand how the psychological and cognitive aspects are related to the consumption and dissemination of fake news. We applied a survey to 712 participants, who rated the credibility of...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Baptista, João Pedro, Correia, Elisete, Gradim, Anabela, Piñeiro-Naval, Valeriano
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)
Repositorio:GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca
OAI Identifier:oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/153325
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10366/153325
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Fake news
Cognition
Bullshits,
Disinformation
Belief
Cognição
Desinformação
Crença
63 Sociología
Descripción
Sumario:[EN] The way we process information can determine the ability to discern fake news from news. This study aims to understand how the psychological and cognitive aspects are related to the consumption and dissemination of fake news. We applied a survey to 712 participants, who rated the credibility of a set of fake news and news headlines. Subsequently, to determine a psychological profile, we assessed the cognitive ability, the degree of claiming exaggerated knowledge and the receptivity to bullshits of the participants. We found that analytical thinking can combat the consumption and spread of fake news. The belief in fake news is associated with intuition, the claim of excessive knowledge and the acceptance of bullshit. People most interested in political news are less likely to believe fake news and bullshit. Thus, political knowledge and reflective reasoning can be crucial elements in resisting political disinformation.