The Social Cognition of Misinformation and Implications for Psychological Interventions

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• Cecilie Steenbuch Traberg (University of Cambridge)
• Wednesday 13 November 2024, 15:00-16:00
• Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Department of Psychology, Downing Site, Cambridge.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Miriam Remshard.

In an era of widespread misinformation on platforms full of social cues, understanding how social dynamics shape susceptibility to misleading information is essential. In this talk, I present research on the social cognitive mechanisms underlying susceptibility to misinformation and the effectiveness of psychological interventions within these contexts. Specifically, this work investigates how social environments can influence the perceived reliability of misinformation. A series of experiments reveal that misinformation becomes more persuasive when bolstered by social consensus cues or when the source aligns with an individual’s social or political identity; exploring the cognitive mechanisms that underlie these effects. Although interventions grounded in inoculation theory demonstrate effectiveness, they encounter limitations in socially mediated settings where source and consensus cues amplify the influence of misinformation. By situating traditional inoculation strategies within real-world social contexts, this research offers insights for designing scalable interventions suited for digital and social media environments. The findings underscore the need for intervention models that incorporate social influence, providing a nuanced framework to combat misinformation in today’s interconnected media landscape.

This talk is part of the Social Psychology Seminar Series (SPSS) series.

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