Misinformation on social media poses a serious threat to democracy, sociopolitical stability, and mental health. Thus, it is crucial to investigate the nature of cognitive mechanisms of information processing and personality traits that contribute to the assessment of news items' veracity and online behavior such as liking and sharing. By exploring these domains, we are more likely to devise accurate, personalized interventions countering the spread of fake news.

Our research aimed to develop and test a classification that groups people into four distinct phenotypes of susceptibility to (mis)information and to establish psycho-cognitive differences between these phenotypes.

The investigated cognitive processes included sensitivity to feedback, belief updating capability, and cognitive judgment bias. Psychological traits of interest included the Big Five model, grandiose narcissism, anxiety, and dispositional optimism. The participants completed an online survey that consisted of a new scale designed to classify people into one of four phenotypes of susceptibility to (mis)information, advanced cognitive tests, and reliable psychological instruments.

The four identified phenotypes, Doubters, Knowers, Duffers, and Consumers, showed that believing in misinformation does not imply denying the truth. In contrast, the numerically largest phenotypes encompassed individuals who were either susceptible (Consumers) or resistant (Doubters) to any news, regardless of its truthfulness. Significantly less frequent were the phenotypes characterized by excellent and poor discernment of the news' truthfulness (the Knowers and the Duffers, respectively).

The phenotypes significantly differed in sensitivity to positive and negative feedback, cognitive judgment bias, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability, grandiose narcissism, anxiety, and dispositional optimism. The obtained results constitute a basis for a new and holistic approach in understanding susceptibility to (mis)information as a psycho-cognitive phenotype.

To learn more, read the whole article here: Cognitive Processes and Personality Traits Underlying Four Phenotypes of Susceptibility to (Mis)Information