Closer Is Not Always More Credible: The Effect of Social Distance on Misinformation Processing.
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| Title: | Closer Is Not Always More Credible: The Effect of Social Distance on Misinformation Processing. |
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| Authors: | Jia, Guangzhen (AUTHOR), Chen, Gongxiang (AUTHOR), Dong, Jimei (AUTHOR), Liu, Yang (AUTHOR), Yang, Qingqing (AUTHOR), Wang, Siming (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Applied Cognitive Psychology. Mar/Apr2025, Vol. 39 Issue 2, p1-10. 10p. |
| Subjects: | Information resources, Information processing, Provocation (Behavior), Misinformation, Social distance |
| Abstract: | Generally, people rely on source credibility to assess the truth of information and correct misinformation. This study aimed to investigate how social distance, a source characteristic, impacted the processing of misinformation. We conducted two studies to examine how social distance from the source of misinformation (Experiment 1) and corrective information (Experiment 2) influenced information processing. We found that misinformation was perceived as more truthful when provided by a close information source than by a distant information source. Moreover, the retraction of misinformation increased when the social distance of the retraction source decreased. Surprisingly, the social distance of the misinformation source provoked an unexpected reverse effect: misinformation from a close social distance source was easier to correct than that from a distant source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Applied Cognitive Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Generally, people rely on source credibility to assess the truth of information and correct misinformation. This study aimed to investigate how social distance, a source characteristic, impacted the processing of misinformation. We conducted two studies to examine how social distance from the source of misinformation (Experiment 1) and corrective information (Experiment 2) influenced information processing. We found that misinformation was perceived as more truthful when provided by a close information source than by a distant information source. Moreover, the retraction of misinformation increased when the social distance of the retraction source decreased. Surprisingly, the social distance of the misinformation source provoked an unexpected reverse effect: misinformation from a close social distance source was easier to correct than that from a distant source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 08884080 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/acp.70034 |
