Do Accuracy-Driven Citizens Always Hold Little Misperceptions?

• In Event: The Foundations of Political Misinformation

Abstract

When do people hold misperceptions? The theory of motivated reasoning provides a useful framework to explain why people hold misperceptions. However, much research in the study of misperception tends to implicitly or explicitly assume that misperceptions are generally caused by directional goals. In this article, I develop a theory and use an experiment to show that accuracy-driven individuals can have misperceptions when the source of misinformation is ostensibly credible, whereas the source credibility is inconsequential for directionally motivated individuals. This study suggests that simply promoting accuracy motivations may not be a sufficient solution to reduce people’s misperceptions.

Author

• Suji Kang, University of Pennsylvania