research-article

I Reason Who I am? Identity Salience Manipulation to Reduce Motivated Reasoning in News Consumption

Authors:

Magdalena Wischnewski,

Nicole KrämerAuthors Info & Claims

SMSociety'20: International Conference on Social Media and Society

Pages 148 - 155

https://doi.org/10.1145/3400806.3400824

Published: 22 July 2020 Publication History

Abstract

Past research has drawn on motivated reasoning theories in order to explain why some people fall for fake news while others do not. One such motivated reasoning paradigm proposes an elicitation of identity threat when incoming information is inconsistent with prior attitudes and beliefs. This experienced identity threat leads to biased information processing in order to defend those prior attitudes and beliefs. Building on this, we conducted two studies to test the overarching hypothesis that shifting identity salience changes information processing outcomes. In two experimental studies with N = 353, we tried to (1) increase factual information acceptance and (2) decrease misinformation acceptance. Our data support the previously found results that identity-threatening information decreases the evaluation of information compared to a control group. Findings also suggested that identity-supporting information was evaluated better, respectively. However, in both studies, identity salience manipulation did not change the evaluation of the information. Still, we found that those participants for whom another identity was made more salient indicated reduced feelings of anger compared to participants who were threatened and received no identity salience manipulation. We interpret these results as a promising first step to counter motivated reasoning processes.

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Cited By

Zhou YShen L(2025)Persistence of Misinformation10.1017/9781009397339Online publication date: 17-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009397339
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-07578-5
Peng WMeng JIssaka B(2024)Navigating persuasive strategies in online health misinformation: An interview study with older adults on misinformation managementPLOS ONE10.1371/journal.pone.030777119:7(e0307771)Online publication date: 25-Jul-2024
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307771
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cover image ACM Other conferences

SMSociety'20: International Conference on Social Media and Society

July 2020

317 pages

ISBN:9781450376884

DOI:10.1145/3400806

Editors:
Anatoliy Gruzd
Ryerson University in Canada
,
Philip Mai
Ryerson University in Canada
,
Raquel Recuero
Federal University of Pelotas and Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil
,
Ángel Hernández-García
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in Spain
,
Chei Sian Lee
Nanyang Technological University in Singapore
,
James Cook
University of Maine at Augusta in the United States
,
Jaigris Hodson
Royal Roads University in Canada
,
Bree McEwan
DePaul University in the United States
,
Jill Hopke
DePaul University in the United States

Copyright © 2020 ACM.

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Published: 22 July 2020

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SMSociety'20

SMSociety'20: International Conference on Social Media and Society

July 22 - 24, 2020

ON, Toronto, Canada

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Cited By

Zhou YShen L(2025)Persistence of Misinformation10.1017/9781009397339Online publication date: 17-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009397339
Bayrak FBoyacioglu IYilmaz O(2025)Does reflection increase accuracy rather than bias in the assessments of political fake news?Current Psychology10.1007/s12144-025-07578-5Online publication date: 1-Mar-2025
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-07578-5
Peng WMeng JIssaka B(2024)Navigating persuasive strategies in online health misinformation: An interview study with older adults on misinformation managementPLOS ONE10.1371/journal.pone.030777119:7(e0307771)Online publication date: 25-Jul-2024
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307771
Gong ZSu L(2024)Exploring the Influence of Interactive and Empathetic Chatbots on Health Misinformation Correction and Vaccination IntentionsScience Communication10.1177/1075547024128098647:2(276-308)Online publication date: 22-Oct-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470241280986
Wischnewski MKrämer N(2024)Does Polarizing News Become Less Polarizing When Written by an AI?Journal of Media Psychology10.1027/1864-1105/a000441Online publication date: 2-Aug-2024
https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000441
Mukerjee S(2022)Rethinking Audience Fragmentation Using a Theory of News Reading Publics: Online India as a Case StudyThe International Journal of Press/Politics10.1177/1940161221107270028:4(862-883)Online publication date: 19-Jan-2022
https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612211072700
Zhang ZLiu X(2022)Consumers’ preference for brand prominence in the context of identity-based consumption for self versus for others: The role of self-construalJournal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science10.1080/21639159.2021.201960032:4(530-553)Online publication date: 2-Feb-2022
https://doi.org/10.1080/21639159.2021.2019600

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