The Effects of a Brief Epistemic Cognition and Metacognition Intervention on the Continued Influence Effect (Poster 48)

• In Event: Thursday Poster Session 12:40 pm
  In Poster Session: Cognitive Processes, Pedagogical Strategies, and Cross-Cultural Insights in Education

Abstract

Individuals rely on accurate information to make decisions, but the amount of misinformation in current society is complicating people’s thinking. Research has shown that many people continue to use misinformation, even after they see a correction. This cognitive bias, the continued influence effect, has been shown in many contexts, but its cause and mechanism are still undetermined. Debunking interventions have been largely unsuccessful. Two random controlled trials examined whether people exhibited the bias in a new context and tested the efficacy of an epistemic cognition inoculation intervention. The bias was not detected in either study, though the intervention did show some promise. The findings indicated that the bias may not occur in contexts that are not highly polarizing.

Author

• Brian Cartiff, University of South Carolina